


Wisdom & Wit

by Matteroffact689



Series: The Traits of The Houses [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A bit of gore, Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Canonical Character Death, Child Abuse, Hermione Granger Bashing, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Mentor Severus Snape, Non-Canonical Character Death, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Powerful Harry Potter, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Ron Weasley Bashing, Smart Harry Potter, a bit of blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 156,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26334169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matteroffact689/pseuds/Matteroffact689
Summary: At six years old, Harry Potter knew many things. He could recite the alphabet, and count to fifty without any help. He ( mostly) knew how to read and to write. He learned his colors and even had a favorite (grey). Harry knew how to tie his shoes,dress himself, and clean himself up at night. He knew how to run really fast, and climb trees really high, and to hide in the shadows.He learned to stay as quiet as possible; recognized the difference between a sprained ankle and a broken leg, and understand that fingers were not meant to be bent backwards, or that the sound of a snap meant pain. He knew what it felt like to be burned by the stove, the sound a belt makes on  a bare back, the feel of a fist hitting his stomach and his face. He quickly learned that to silence his tears, and that a mumble or a cry would make it worse.Yes, at six, Harry knew a lot, and not much of it was good. But this isn't just astory of what Harry knew, but also a story of what he will learn, and of how he will use that knowledge.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott & Harry Potter
Series: The Traits of The Houses [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913584
Comments: 863
Kudos: 1386





	1. Chapter 1: It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> [Disclaimer : Harry Potter is the work of J.K. Rowling. Most characters and places are hers. I claim the plot.]

“ He went this way!” Dudley's friend Piers shouted, luckily nowhere near where Harry was actually running. His feet just kept moving, over grass and gravel, until it landed on the pavement, and even then they failed to stop. Building and pedestrians whipped by him as he continued his escape.

‘Why did she have to bring me along?’ Harry cursed in his head. Mrs. Polkiss, on her way out of Number 4 Privet Drive to take Dudley and her son, Piers, to a locale park, had spotted Harry digging away in the garden. No matter how much Aunt Petunia denied it, or how hard she would pinch Harry’s arm to make him agree that he didn’t want to go, he really didn’t need the incentive to try and stay home, Mrs. Polkiss refused to accept it.

"Nonsense,” Mrs. Polkiss refuted with a smile so fake even Harry's face started to hurt, “ Little Piers always tells me how much fun Dudley and him have with Harry.” Making Harry truly wonder what Piers actually tells his mom they do. He highly doubted that ‘ Harry Hunting’ was an approved form of fun for this suburban mother.

Out of breath, Harry huffed and leaned on some large granite steps to his right. Trying to breathe normally he even risked sitting down. Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Harry peaked around his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. Aunt Petunia regularly took Harry and Dudley to this park, if only so that she could socialize and gossip with the other mothers from around the town. This usually was accompanied by a slap on the head with a mutter of ‘ Don’t do anything freaky’ and a kiss to Dudley’s forehead with her blessing to have fun. Harry would begin running almost as soon as he was out of her sight, and the hunt would begin. Thankfully, Harry had mentally mapped out the park and was aware of the best spots to hide from Dudley. Usually he would manage to avoid the beating, only getting a few scrapes and scratches. Dudley wasn’t the smartest, and Harry could easily move from safe spot to safe spot to avoid him. 

Piers changed that. While also none too bright, Piers would keep a watchful eye for Harry even as they went from place to place. Harry had been climbing out of a tree nearby to move further away when Piers had noticed him and grabbed Dudley’s arm to get his attention. That’s when Harry ran to the main park gate, and then past it, and then down the street, and another and another, leading to Harry now sitting on some hard granite stones, his baggy sweater barely hiding his heaving chest, facing a huge sign claiming to be the Greater Surrey Public Library. 

‘Dudley definitely won’t come in here,’ Harry figured, ‘Even if he even bothered to walk this far.’ Harry took the steps two by two smiling awkwardly to a woman and her little boy, who quickened her pace to avoid him. Harry quickly reached the final step at the top and pushed the glass door open. Harry walked in a bit timidly, peering about to take in his surroundings. Dark wooden panelling covered all of the walls, separated only by two white doors on the right wall leading to the restrooms,a water fountain resting between them, and a large double door made of even darker wood on the back wall. Immediately to his left two yellow chairs surrounded a small coffee table with several magazines on it, with a small bookcase with more magazines. An empty, huge wooden desk with a silver bell on its counter, rested in the center of the room. Harry quickly finished his tour and rushed to the water fountain between the restrooms to take a sip of water.

“ Not too ‘Great’ of a library.” Harry muttered as he turned around, figuring he could go look at a few of the magazines at least, only to be stopped by a new voice.

“ You’ve only just stepped in the reception room, Dearie. The true library is here behind these doors.” Harry spun around to find the person who spoke only to fall on bum as a tall older woman loomed over him. Her grey hair was pulled into a messy bun, showing off her pale complexion and slightly pointed features. Wrinkles decorated her face, while golden earrings hung from her ears, and a golden pendant of a bird rested on her neck. A pastel blue dress covered her from head to foot, with a tarnished metal belt wrapped around her waist. 

“ Wh-who are you?” Harry stuttered, as he quickly rose up and backed up a bit from her. 

“ I, Dearie, and the main Librarian for this ‘Great’ library, Mrs. Agatha Prewett” She informed him, her eyes resting on his forehead before quickly taking in the rest of his face, and his raggedly appearance. “ the true question though, should be, ‘ Who are you?” 

“ Piers, Piers Polkiss.” Harry rushed out. He knew not to give his real name, knowing that he can never truly trust an adult. “ My mom dropped me off at the park, but I was getting bored and thirsty so I came in here to find something to do. But I should probably go back now. Sorry for bothering you, I’ll be going now, bye” 

“ Now hold on just a moment, Mr. Polkiss” , Mrs. Prewett stopped him, resting her boney hand on his shoulder. Harry barely managed to smother the flinch from her touch, and failed to hide the grimace on his face as he realised she knew he was not who he had claimed to be. “ If you were bored in the park, perhaps a change of scenery would be perfect for you, Dearie.” Her hand now firmly on his shoulder and guided him to the large doors behind he desk and with her other hand she pulled open one of the doors walking Harry into the next room . “ This Dearie, is the true Greater Surrey Library.”


	2. Chapter 2: Knowledge Is A Gift

It is safe to say that Harry James Potter was in love. Inwardly his heart was racing and his mind was screaming. Outwardly, he barely held a mask of indifference, learning at a young age that to show and joy or happiness towards something was a sure fire way to have it destroyed or taken away. But at the young age at eight, Harry’s mask was not as perfect as he would hope. Agatha, or Aggie to her Bridge team, and the mailman, and her neighbors, and basically anyone who had spent more than five minutes with her, had seen a glow from young Harry’s eyes. It was muted, but still there. And Aggie knew right then and there that she would try her hardest to bring that spark to life.

“ So, Dearie,” Aggie began as she guided Harry down the main aisle, passing bookcase after bookcase., “ Is this ‘Great’ enough for you?” She chuckled a bit when she noticed Harry’s look of pure awe as he slowly spun around to see as much as he could.

“ Yeah, it’s great!” He stuttered, schooling his emotions as best he can, “ I mean I guess it’s okay.”

“Well Dearie, do you know where to start? We have a children’s section over to the left?” Looking where she was pointing led Harry to a vibrantly colored section with large stuffed animals and animals shaped chairs. Harry suppressed a shudder. As much as he wanted to stay here, he had enough of children’s books. Harry had read though enough of the books he stole from Dudley, who would just throw them away as soon as he was given them, and the small “library” that was in his primary school to know that they held no true information he wanted. As far as Harry was concerned, those were meant to only teach children to read, or learn their numbers, and Harry was quite proficient in both of those aspects. 

“ Uh, no,” he timidly began, “ I was, uh I mean, do you have any books of snakes?” He managed to get out, already preparing for the denial. He could already see that his question had surprised the librarian, and although the library was huge, Harry doubted she would waste her time on him. Filled with a bit of sadness, he decided just to get it over with and began walking towards the colorfully travesty that was the children’s section.

“ Herpetology isn’t usually a topic for little boys,” Aggie, claimed, not at all put off by this, but still her curiosity wanted her to know all she could about this young man.“ But if I recall those kinds of books would be in the biology section this way.” She gently grabbed Harry’s hand and began bringing him further into the library, and thankfully away from the children’s section. Harry didn’t know the word ‘ herpetology’ but with a small amount of hope he quickened his pace to keep up with Aggie. He was hesitant to ask, but as she wasn’t bothered by him yet, he felt he could push his luck just a bit to her what it did mean.

“ Herpetology is the scientific study of reptiles and amphibians, which include your snakes Dearie.” Aggie started to lecture. “ There are scientists that make it their life’s goal to study all they possibly can about any creatures, be it their diet and habitats, and their anatomy. Keeping up Dearie?” She asked. Harry quickly nodded, understanding she meant both with her words as well as her speed. “ Herpet- coming from the Greek ‘ herpeton’ meaning reptile, and - ology meaning the study of. Here herpetology is a subcategory of our Biology department, and it’s only a few more cases from here.” She smiled down at the boy, who tentatively smiled back. “Now, do you have a specific topic you are researching?”

“Oh uh, kinda?” Harry managed, “ I found a small snake in my back garden, and she has a pale eye, only a nub for a tail, and I wanted to know what kind of snake she is and what I could do for her. “ He shuffled his feet a bit. “ I want to know what I can do to make her a nest.” Aggie, nodded along as he spoke, turning to search for what would help him best. She quickly found two, hesitated a moment and grabbed a third and once more guided Harry to an empty table nearby.

“ Ok Dearie, I’ll leave you with these. There will likely be words you don’t know, because these books are not exactly meant for children, however there is a dictionary and a thesaurus at the center of the table if you need it. I’ll be walking around if you need me. Just leave the books you finish or do not want on the table, and I shall put it back later tonight,’ and with one more smile Aggie walked away leaving young Harry with a universe of knowledge at his fingertips.

He gently picked up the first book and flipped through it. However he was quickly disappointed when he saw it was purely words. Not that that would deter him. Harry was already planning to read it later, noting that he would definitely need the thesaurus and dictionary for it, but for now he had need of a book with pictures. He knew what his snake looked like, not what species she was. The second book he was happy to see did in fact have both descriptions and pictures, but while skimming through it he had failed to find anything describing his snake. Dismayed by this, Harry sat back in his chair.

‘I guess I could try the first book again.’ He hummed, ‘ It’ll just take longer without a picture.’ Decision made, Harry smiled and leaned over the table to grab the dictionary. On his return though, his eyes happened upon another book. Realizing the librarian must have placed it for him as well he quickly dropped the dictionary and grabbed the new one. As soon as he touched it, he felt a shock and quickly withdrew his hand. When nothing further happened, Harry decided to brave it and grabbed it with both hands. Energy coursed past into him causing his entire body to shudder, not unpleasantly. Finally subsiding, Harry took a look at the book. The Complete Encyclopedia of Fanged Foes was clearly printed in the center of the cover with symbols and patterns surrounding it. The more Harry stared the more certain Harry was that the symbols were fading in and out while the patterns were contorting into stranger patterns.

“ The Complete Encyclopedia of Fanged Foes," Harry muttered to himself. “ Well it should include snakes, which is what I do need, as well as wolves, and cats, and dogs, and bats and who knows what else which I don’t.” he shook his head. “ This is gonna take forever!” The book seemed to shudder in his hands and Harry marveled as it’s seemed to thin out. More words formed on it’s cover changing its name. It was now titled The Mostly Complete Encyclopedia of Fanged Foes: Snakes and Serpents.

He let out a small giggle at the absurdity of it all. “ I wonder if there are any snakes without fangs.” The book shuddered again, seeming to Harry with a bit of an attitude this time as the cover changed further, adding *Also Includes Some Species of Fangless Foes.

“ Well then,” Harry began to smile, “ I don’t think you have a correct title anymore” He explained to the book. Another shudder and what Harry could only assume was an angry cat hissing at him was the book’s response. “Sorry, sorry!” he stammered back, deciding it was best to just dig in and avoid upsetting the very helpful  The Mostly Complete Encyclopedia of Fanged Foes: Snakes and Serpents. * Also Includes Some Species of Fangless Foes.

He all too soon lost himself in the books. Images and words seemed to just flow onto the pages. He quickly learned that the book also includes stories and myths of the most spectacular serpents and snakes. He learned of snakes that could breathe fire, swim in water and lava, teleport and even tales of a serpent found only in the Amazon that could duplicate itself. He spent a long time reading about basilisks, which the book claimed it to be the “ King of Serpents” and with the drawings of it, Harry quite agreed that it was in fact a ‘fanged foe’. Harry had to keep mentally slapping himself to continue on. It was just too interesting for him though.

“ I need to find out about purple snakes.” A wiggle from the book shocked him, as the page in front of him cleared out only to have a new image bleed out onto the page. A large purple snake filled the page, feathers growing out of the snakes back and tail. Now this was almost exactly what Harry’s snake looked like, minus the feathers and size and he almost skipped over it before he realized that maybe his snake was a baby snake. Maybe the nubs Harry had found on her back and tail were the start to what he could only come to think of as wings! With hope pouring out of him, Harry flipped to the next page and began reading.

_‘Occamy: A species of winged serpents, Occamy tend to have iridescent ( Harry had to use the dictionary on that word) scales of between violets to green in color. While it’s fangs tend to be it’s most common form of defense, male Occamy are known to harden their tail feathers and wield them as swords. Both genders are able to fly, hunt and care for themselves at an early age, however most young stay with a parent until they are at least one to two meters long._

_Some Occamy are venomous, but it is not restricted to gender, and it is not known if an Occamy is until it bites a victim. Magizoologist Newt Scamander claimed that an Occamy was only venomous if it needed to be. While Magizoologist Clifford Panbottom claimed it was a personal question and quite insulting to Occamy to ask. Further studies into the known venoms, have found cases of death, petrification, and even one single case of bringing a farmer back from the brink of death ( It is to be noted that the farmer soon died of blood loss, and could not be asked if the venom in fact kept him alive)._

_Almost all parts of the Occamy are used in potions, from its feathers to its organs. It is illegal to own or trade or sell Occamy without a license or a Familiar Bond. The Kingdom of Albion has also made it illegal to kill an Occamy and as such it is suggested upon finding an Occamy the Ministry of Magic is to be contacted as the earliest convenience to the Wizard or Witch who found it._

Harry stopped there as he noticed most of the information afterwards was more legal stuff, and while he found it interesting he had gotten the information he needed. A chime came from a nearby clock, claiming his attention and sending Harry into a panic at realizing how late it was, and that he needed to get back to the park or else Mrs. Polkiss would leave without him and he would be punished. Shivering in fear of that, Harry quickly pushed his chair in and grabbed the three books, subconsciously petting and thanking 'Fanged Foes' which purred in response only to go unnoticed by the frantic boy. He quickly followed his and the librarian’s earlier route, and ran out of the empty reception room, down the stairs narrowly avoiding a man in all black clothing, and along the street leading back to the park, where he made it just in time for Mrs. Polkiss calling his and his cousin’s name, as Piers was already there. His sigh of relief became a grunt of pain as Dudley slammed into him from behind, dropping him to the ground. 

“Let’s go freak.!” Dudley bellowed. “ She promised me an ice cream cone on the way back and I want yours or I'm telling dad that you went missing!” Harry climbed to his feet, and ran to catch up, content to know he didn’t need to find a way to bribe Dudley quiet.

Agatha stood at the table where she had left the young ‘Piers’. Frowning as she realized that he must have already left. With a sigh she went to put the books away only to find that they were no longer on the table. Mildly concerned that he had taken them with him and not checked them out, she turned to head back to the reception desk. A purring caught her attention however, and she found the book she was hesitant to give him in the first place. A smile spread on her face as she found the proof she needed as a reason to follow her instincts on the boy. Hopefully he would come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Occamy are in the Potter world, I didn't find much on them in research ( gonna be honest only tried for like 30 minutes) I decided to make them my own and to fit my needs. More things to note, Harry is 8 and I am trying to base his mentality on nephew who is 10. ( He told his teacher that the books in his class were to childish and hates the sheep chairs she had in her classroom for when they did group reading) The next chapter is going to probably be a bunch of time skips until we get to Hogwarts. then the fun begins. Maybe. I'm already having fun.


	3. Chapter 3: Fanged Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a surprise chapter for me. I had the next 3 chapters pre-written, and as I was reviewing them I realized, I hated them and gutted them. And suddenly had the urge to write this bit out. So it will be a while before i get us to Hogwarts I'm afraid.

True to his word Dudley did in fact take Harry’s ice cream, telling Mrs. Polkiss that Harry was “lactoid insistent” practically ripping the cone out of the other boy’s hand. Mrs. Polkiss took that with a grain of salt, and apologized to Harry who awkwardly accepted it and denied a replacement dessert. Harry spent much of the car ride home ignoring the grumbling of his stomach and the loud noises of Dudley and Piers from beside him. When they finally returned to Number 4 Privet Drive, Aunt Petunia was at the front door waiting to greet Dudley with a loud wet kiss on both his checks. Harry recieved a sharp pinch to his arm and a hurried whisper of ‘ Your Uncle will be home within the hour. Get in the kitchen.’ Followed by a rough push down the hall. 

He scrambled into the kitchen, wanting to start as soon as he could to avoid Uncle Vernon’s ire. Ingredients for a meatloaf and mashed potatoes were already on the counter making Harry sigh. They used him as their own private chef and yet they couldn’t let him make better food? Besides working in the garden, cooking had become his favorite task, but Aunt Petunia never allowed for any food that was too ‘foreign’. Harry knew there were better options, he could hear the recipes from his cupboard when Aunt Petunia would flick to food shows on the tele at night. He had even smuggled some seeds from the school garden to grow vegetables and spices in the back garden but was almost never allowed to use them. Uncle Vernon had spitefully sent Dudley back there to smash them all, and shortly after forced Harry himself to rip up everything else. He cried himself to sleep that night, and learned a valuable lesson. Never to do more than was asked of him. It would go unwelcomed. 

Thankfully meatloaf was easy to make and Harry soon had it in the oven. Most of his time was spent waiting for the potatoes to boil, before quickly mashing them enough that there were no lumps. Dudley refused to eat any veggies except mashies, so Aunt Petunia would punish Harry if they weren’t perfect for her ‘ Little Duddykins’ because he would starve otherwise. Harry hoped to make everything perfectly so that he might get a chance at an actual meal. In the last few days he only managed to get his hands on a bruised apple from the neighbor’s tree, a handful of stale granola, and a few overly ripened strawberries. Summers were the worst for meals, whereas during the school year his Aunt and Uncle were worried that a teacher would notice if Harry was too skinny, now though,, there were no real concerns about that. 

Uncle Vernon was home right as the meatloaf was pulled from the oven, and everyone but Harry hastened to sit at the dining room table to eat. Harry was left to stay in the kitchen to clean up. The sounds of silverware on plates,and grunting from the dining room only further reminded poor Harry of how long it had been without a meal. With the dishes done, he soon began to wipe down the counters and then mopped the floor.

“Boy! Get in here right now!” Uncle Vernon bellowed. Harry rushed in only to be stopped by a small tea plate being trusted in his face by his Aunt. “ Say thank you, you ungrateful little freak.”

Harry quickly mumbled his gratitude before examining his meal which was a single scoop of mashies, and what could only be described as the burnt end of the loaf, drowning in gravy with a large bite out of it. Apparently it wasn’t good enough for Dudley, but was just barely too good for him. He ate as slowly as he dared, knowing from experience that if he were to wolf it done he’d just sick it up later. Once finished with his entirely too small meal, Harry bought all the dishware to the sink and finished cleaning up for the night (he hoped). Before he could stop into the living room to ask, Uncle Vernon’s meaty claw grabbed him by the back of his neck and dragged him to his cupboard. It was barely half past six, however it was clear Uncle Vernon had no wish to deal with him.

“ Light’s out and be quiet, Freak.” Uncle Vernon demanded. “ Your Aunt and I want to watch the tele, and we don't want to be interrupted by any freakiness.” Harry only nodded before the door was slammed on his face and the lock engaged. Huddled on his cot, Harry gave a few minutes to be sure he was safe before he moved. He relaxed his body and closed his eyes and focused. He felt the energy around him, the hairs on the back of his neck rising up, pins and needles starting at his fingers, and still he focused. The air around him grew heavy and warm, and still he focused. And only when his ears popped did he stop. He hesitated only for a second before clapping his hands as loudly as possible, and turned fearfully towards his door, waiting for it to be ripped open. Thankfully he had practised and almost never failed to silence his room anymore. Slowly he rose hands above his head, and focused again, this time, trying to center the energy on his hands. There wasn’t a pop for this bit but a small woosh as small multicolored balls of little twinkled to life above him. He smiled but still side eyed his door to make sure the light wasn’t attracting his Uncle’s unwanted attention.

From an early (earlier) age, what his Aunt and Uncle only referred to as “Freakish Things”, were a constant in Harry’s life; be it his hair growing overnight after a terrible haircut, teleporting to the roof of his school to avoid Dudley, or even turning his teacher’s hair blue after she yelled at him in front of the class for something Dudley and his gang had done.Harry at first tried to stop these things from happening, and when that failed, instead trying to hide it , all the while hoping that this would make his Aunt Petunia love him, or at least not punish him as much. She had very little hope the Uncle Vernon would ever come to at least dislike him, far from the hatred that was already there. When that failed though, Harry embraced the freakiness. He practiced whenever he could. First trying to replicate the things he already did, leading to an accident where his eyebrows grew to cover his face like they were bangs, or when he turned all his clothes into a horrible neon green. Both incidents happened thankfully out of sight, and after he finished panicking he was able to reverse both problems. 

Harry’s sights soon shifted to seeing what he could do about his wants and needs. His first attempt was to keep himself warm. Neither his ratty blanket or secondhand clothing from Dudley were particularly good at that. Multiple attempts and a lot of small fires soon gave way to control of not just warmth but also in keeping Harry cool during the summer. 

His second idea was concerning food. He had tried to imagine food appearing in front of him or even anything edible. But unfortunately for days, no matter what he tried, or how much he wanted nothing would appear. Frustration from this had won out, and Harry had run into the back garden in a fit. With hunger gripping his stomach like a vice, Harry had glared at the neighbor's apple tree, anger fueling his wants so much, almost too much. Just when Harry thought he would erupt into flames himself from his wrath, several apples zoomed from the uppermost branches and fell to Harry’s feet. A joyous yelp flew out of his mouth which he quickly covered. Have grabbed both apples, running them under the hose water and ate them before he even had time to think. He soon began to call apples to himself from the tree, and even managed to steal some berries from the other side of their yard. He learned that his ‘summoning’ as he called it, didn’t end with just fruits, but really anything that he wanted that was out of reach.

His next ability that he had wanted was to turn invisible. After multiple attempts with failures usually ending up with a beating from Uncle Vernon or Dudley and his gang, since he couldn’t be ‘invisible’ to himself as even his reflection didn’t change for him, Harry had mostly perfected it. However he was never silent when he did succeed, and sometimes he still had a shadow. 

His most recent abilities became his silencing skill, which he found tended to silence a room rather than himself, and the lights which he proudly called his Wisps. Unfortunately these didn’t always work and Harry was very careful with them. But at the moment Harry sat happily in his little cupboard, free in the knowledge that he was safe for now. Once he was locked in Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia usually left him alone until morning and he was needed to make breakfast. Harry leaned over his cot and reached down to pull at the loose floorboard he used to hide his precious items. Or at least it did at one time

. 

“~ _You can come out now. It’s safe.~”_ Harry whispered into the hole. A small purple snake head popped out.

“~ _Bold of you to assume something can be dangerous to me._ ~” Was her response. Born Under the Saffron During The Second Moon Cycle of The Rainy Times, or Saffron for short, was Harry’s best friend. Harry had rescued her in the school yard in April when Dudley and his gang had attempted to feed her to a stray dog they had cornered. Luckily the dog was too afraid to eat anything they threw in his face, and they soon became bored. An invisible Harry ran forward and grabbed her before they could find something else to do. Harry had also managed to befriend the dog, but soon enough playtime was over, and while Harry could smuggle the snake in his bag, the dog was another problem, and with a few more pats, the dog had turned and ran into the tree line away from the school.

“~ _I apologize, my Lady,_ ~” Harry rolled his eyes. “ ~ I _forget you are a most powerful foe, and have nothing to fear while you sleep underneath the floorboards of my room_.~”

“~ _Your apology is unacceptable. Tell me a story to make me forgive you! And pet my head! And tell me I’m scary like you mean it!_ ~” She demanded, and truly she was the most scary snake the size of a ruler Harry had ever seen and was quick to agree if only to not be yelled at any more. Harry picked her up and soon began scratching her head, receiving a contented hiss from her. 

_“~ I do not have a story I am sorry.~”_ Harry hung is head in false shame. A smirk formed on his face however. “ _~ I did spend some of the day learning about you however~”_

He was soon interrupted by a hiss and a wiggle, as Saffron rose up to boop his nose with her head _“~ And you dare not begin with that? Tell me what knowledge you have learned of me!~”_

_“~ I would if you would not interrupt me.~”_ Harry laughed, resuming to scratch her scales. _“~ It’s not much but I hope to learn more about you. But to start with, you my dear Saffron are an Occamy.~_ ” a hiss of confirmation interrupted him again and he looked at her in mild confusion. “ _~ I thought you didn't know what you were? I asked you multiple times!~”_

_“~ I know what I am, I just did not know what I was called.~”_ She flipped her tail at him to continue.

_“~Anyways, yes, you are an Occamy and these nubs on your body will give way to feathers and wings. Your habitat is usually a small dark cave, which makes sense as to why you live in my floor. And just like most other snakes you are carnivorous and will unhinge your jaws to eat your prey live and hole.~”_ Hisses of agreement followed each fact. _“~ Let me think, oh and yes when you get older and stronger, you’ll be able to manipulate your size, making yourself bigger or smaller for short periods of time.~_ ” Harry paused to try and remember more of the book. “ _~ It said… It said that your species stays with its parents until it is much bigger than you are. It stated you could survive as you are now but that you much prefer being with your family until later.~”_ Harry paused again “ _~ Do you know why you were alone?~”_

_“~ Simple really, I was abandoned.~”_ A small hiss of sadness in her voice. _“~ There were too many in the nest and I was the smallest. It’s just the way we snakes are.~”_ Harry grabbed her, startling a hiss from her, and pulled her to his chest holding her as close and as tightly as he could without hurting her.

_”~ Well you’re with me now~" he said to her, "~and you’re not allowed to leave or be alone. We are a family and will always be together~”_

_“~ Of course we will. I chose you and we shall never be separated.~”_ she added licking his face with her small tongue. They snuggled like that for as long as possible, before Saffron began to wiggle around and demand scratches again. Harry complied, laying down and resting her on his chest.

“ _~ The book also claimed that you are very valuable, however you are illegal to own, trade or sell, unless there is a familiar bond.~”_ Harry told her.

_“~Yes I am of great worth, and do not worry of laws little one, I have claimed you as my familiar.~”_ her conceited tone making Harry giggle. _“~Nothing can keep us apart, for i shall bite them and eat them should they try!~”_

That reminded Harry of the other thing the book had mentioned. _“~ It also claimed that not all Occamy were venomous, and that two magizool- magiczoo- that two animal scientists were arguing, with one stating Occamy were venomous if they needed to be an the other was arguing that it was a personal choice of the Occamy and was rude to ask.~”_

“ _~ I agree.~”_

_“~Too which?~”_

_“~That it’s rude to ask._ ~”

Harry giggled again, accompanied by Saffron’s hissy laugh this time. As Harry began dropping off to sleep one more thought came to him, something the book had alluded to. Between a yawn Harry muttered to an already sleeping Saffron _“~ I think I’m a Wizard.~”_


	4. Chapter 4: Bloodlines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where I feel the story truly begins. I add quite a bit of Lore here, which will be the foundation for much of the plot.

Mrs. Polkiss came over a few days later with another offer to take Harry and Dudley to the park. Unfortunately, this time Aunt Petunia managed a ‘valid’ reason for Harry not to be allowed to go. So while Dudley and Piers were terrorizing the inhabitants of the park, Harry was trapped in the house, cleaning everything Aunt Petunia could think of. Although, it wasn’t too long before Harry was finally able to go. Mrs. Polkiss had become oddly persistent in taking Piers and Dudley to the park, and Harry was able to tag along for a lot of them. At first, Harry questioned why Mrs. Polkiss was so adamant of taking them to this one particular park, especially when she never actually stayed with them. But one time when Harry was sneaking off to the library he saw Mrs. Polkiss laughing along with another woman in a coffee shop. Harry ignored his curiosity and decided that what happened there wasn’t any of his business. 

It wasn’t always Mrs. Polkiss who took Harry and Dudley to the park however. Dudley was regularly demanding to go to the park now, and since then, they were spending three or four days a week going to the park. Aunt Petunia would never deny her precious baby something and she refused to leave Harry home alone for fear of him doing something to the house. What Aunt Petunia didn’t know, and Harry doubted that she would even care, was that Dudley’s only reason to go to the park was because he had learned he could make money there. Dudley had discovered that other children would bring their allowances to the park to have a chance to buy ice cream and other sweets from vendors who set up shop around the park. Him and his ‘gang’ rapidly began threatening the other children and taking their money from them, with Dudley sharing a small amount with the others. While it was unfortunate for the other children, it was quite fortunate for Harry because more often than not Dudley would be distracted by this and he could escape to the library.

Madam Prewitt, or Aggie, as she soon demanded he called her, was not always there, instead it was usually Mr. Kenwood. Mr. Kenwood was a polite young man who spent most of his time studying to finish his degree in some really hard science thingy that Harry couldn’t even name let alone follow when Mr. Kenwood began lecturing Harry on it. When Aggie was around, books on wizards and magical creatures always popped up with his choices, and Harry was very happy when they did. It felt to him like he was learning more about himself and a world that he was meant to have a part in. Thankfully today was turning into an ‘Aggie Day’. 

“Good morning, Aggie.” Harry greeted her, “ What wonders am I going to learn today?”

A smile graced Aggie’s face as soon as she saw Harry. He was rather abruptly becoming a main focal point in her life, even causing her to go as far as to pick up more shifts on the chance of being here for him. Not that she was feeling burdened by him. In fact it was the opposite: She had for the longest time just been going about her life and was an old lady without a family. Those who were still alive had mostly forgotten about her, or failed to make any contact with her, which of course was the goal when her parents Proclaimed her disinheritance before she was even a teenager. Of course, what seemed like a long time ago to her, a few had ignored her parents Proclamation, and continued to visit her, or give her gifts and news from the Wizarding World including her twin nephews, who were born a few years before her exile,who at the time were constantly apparated into her living room for tea and biscuits. But all too soon the wizards had a war, and her nephews were taken from her. Her niece, their sister, had reached out to invite her to their funeral, but when she arrived, her horrid mother, who was most unfortunately still alive, roughly removed her from the grounds. The last news she had received was a clipping of a newspaper announcing joyously that the wizards’ ‘Dark Lord’ was defeated by a baby, and that her dear nephews were avenged. After that no family member had ever reached out to her again. 

She was lonely and she would be the first to admit that young Harry was filling a hole in her life that she had never known was there. That wasn’t to say everything was roses with that boy. He still insisted his name was Piers, and although he was quite skilled at responding almost normally to the name, she knew his true identity. The problem was that she was almost certain HE did not know who he was. She had no doubt he knew his name wasn’t Piers, and had made several subtle attempts to use the name ‘ Harry’ in conversations with him and saw him react to it, if at least minutely. It had been nearly six weeks since Harry had first walked into her life, and the school year was just around the corner. Aggie truly wanted to aid Harry. She had quickly realized that he knew very little of his magical background. What worried her most at the moment was that during the winter months, Harry would not be able to find a way to visit the library. He had let slip once that he was only here because his family thought he was at a nearby park, and that would only be an acceptable excuse when the weather would allow it. She needed to find a way for them to remain in contact. But she couldn’t do that if he didn’t even trust her with his one name! Aggie was almost certain Harry didn’t come from a good home which meant that she was fighting an uphill battle to earn this young boy’s trust. But she had hope, and with each passing meet up she felt a little bit more of Harry’s true personality come to the surface and only hoped that soon he would view her as a friend or at least an ally.

“Well Dearie, I had thought it was time to have an important chat.” She winked down at him. “ I have closed off Study Room 3B for us to use today. Why don’t you grab a few books you would like, and we could meet up and discuss them?” Harry had smiled at the prospect and before she had finished was already bustling to go. He did wait until she had, barely, before he turned and walked quickly ( he was polite enough to not run in the library) to find his favorites. Aggie soon followed, going at a more manageable pace, collecting Wizarding books that she had given him earlier. She was happy to note that several she intended to bring were already gone. Even with the possibility that another magical being had entered her library and taken them, she was certain that young Harry had them. She also hunted down a few books she knew he had never seen before. These were the ones she would invest most of their time together in. She finished her search and walked to the secluded rooms on the right side of the library, she poked her head in the door first to see how he was doing. Five or six books were stacked on the table, with one open and ready. A purring sound attracted her attention and she noticed that Fang Foe was resting in the boy’s lap as he almost subconsciously petted and scratched at the book’s covering. It had become a very common routine where Aggie was not entirely sure if Harry himself was going out of his way to grab the book, or if the book instead hunted Harry down like a stray cat. ‘Hmmm, perhaps it would make a good gift for him’ Aggie thought. She still had contacts in the Wizarding world, especially the bookstores, and it would be relatively easy to replace it, hopefully one with less of an attitude. 

She entered the room and turned around. Poking her head out and confirming they were alone and would not be disturbed before she shut the door and spun around to see a confused boy staring up at her. “ Sorry Dearie, I wanted to make sure we were alone. This conversation we are to have isn’t exactly one that we want certain people to overhear.” A look of understanding crossed his face before Harry’s gaze seemed to lose focus. A pop in her ears startled her and she nearly leapt out of her skin. A smug smirk on Harry’s face proved that he was the cause, and she looked at him waiting for his answer.

He hesitated for a moment before responding. “ You just said you didn’t want others to hear what we were saying, so I used my power to make this room silent.” Aggie was almost certain she failed to hide the look of awe on her face as she rapidly came to the realization that this eight year old ( almost nine if her calendar was up to date) had used controlled nonverbal wandless magic. A wave of pride flowed within her. She couldn’t wait to help Harry flourish into the Wizard he was meant to be. She sat across from him and smiled.

“I think, Dearie, we will start with you. Ask me anything and I will do my best to answer you.” He nodded and his grin grew four sizes as he grabbed the book off the table to begin.

“Okay I we should start here then. “ Harry opened a new page. “ I understand how the integral of a function can be used to help determine the area underneath that curve, but what I don’t understand is the practical need of it. Do you have any examples for this?” Aggie was immediately flummoxed by this. She truly had expected Harry to ask about magic and the Wizarding World. Instead he wanted to learn calculus? She was about to respond as best she would when she noticed a glint in Harry’s eyes and the slight lift of the corner of his mouth. Laugher escaped from her as she realized he was pulling her leg. She was happy to see that he soon joined her. “ No Aggie, I know now this isn’t what you really want to talk about. I just wanted to see your reaction and you didn’t fail me.”

“ Laugh it up Dearie,” Aggie warned, “ and see how much longer you will be allowed in my library!” Mirth spilling out of her words. “ I think however, it is time we truly get down to it.” Harry perked up as Aggie started. “ I believe that you have come to understand that you are rather special and that there is so much more to this world than you or a lot of people have ever truly realized. Now what I want you to know is do you believe it?”

Harry seemed to pause, slightly confused by the question. “ I mean I kind of have to don’t I? We are sitting in a room that I somehow have managed to soundproof to the outside world, holding a book that actually purrs like a cat, not to mention the other abilities I seem to have, how can I not believe in it?

“ You’d be surprised how easy it is for people to ignore what is right in front of their eyes to keep what they know to be true.” She shook her head sadly. “ Ok, Dearie, I can see the gears turning in your little head, why don’t you ask me what you want to know?”

Harry hesitated and he could see his frustration as he tried to figure out what he wanted to ask. She saw when he came to a decision because he straightened himself up. “ How was I to learn about this?”

“ What do you mean?” 

Harry paused again. “ I guess I mean how was I supposed to learn about my powers? And about this Wizarding World as so many of these books” - He pointed to his stack in front of him - “mention? I accidentally ended up here! Do all wizard’s just stumble on this? How is there even a society from this?”

Aggie nodded in understanding. “ Firstly, let me state that there are truly no such things as accidents. Fate is a true force in the world, and she is a powerful one as well. That is not to say there is not such a thing as free will, but only that some things are meant to happen and you finding this place and coming to mean happened for a reason.” She shared a small smile with him. “ Now to your actual question; in a way the answer is yes. Many muggleborn in England tend to just find their own way into the magical world. For those that do not, the Wizarding World eventually reaches out to them at the age of eleven. Howarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will send any and all wizarding children an acceptance letter to them. With this letter will come a small introduction to the Wizarding World, and usually the Headmaster will send a professor to their homes in an attempt to explain anything that the child or their parents need. Other children, be they pureblood, or half blood are well aware of the Wizarding World, as they live and breathe it every day, and are only sent acceptance letters.” She paused to see how well Harry was doing when she saw he was brimming to ask her more. “ I feel like I just gave you more questions than answers.” Harry nodded back at her. “ Do you need me to expand or clarify any of that?”

Harry nodded once more, “ What do you mean by ‘muggleborn, pureblood and half blood’? And why does it seem like the pure bloods and half bloods get special treatment?”

“Well Dearie, Wizards and Witches tend to divide themselves up. Muggleborns are what it sounds like; children of muggles. Muggles are what we in Great Britain call non-magical people. Other Kingdoms and Nations have other names such as nomaj in the States, or the mundane in eastern Europe. You see, a long time ago the Magical Kingdoms and the Muggle World lived together. I won’t say it was a harmonious time, but that it was at least not all brimstone and fire. Unfortunately time passed and the relationship between the Magical Kingdoms and the Muggle World became too volatile and a Great Magic was created to separate the Magical Kingdoms from the Muggle World. The Lords at the time hid the Magical Kingdoms and removed the knowledge of them from the muggles. Together a guideline called the Statute of Secrecy was created. Each Kingdom would ratify a version of it, defining how they would continue to keep magic out of the hands of muggles. And this is where England tends to be behind in how muggleborns are dealt with. The States have stricter policies concerning the Statute, and so as soon as their Ministry becomes aware of a muggleborn child, that child and immediate family are brought into the Magical World. They are immersed in the culture and the magic, and have spells put upon them that block their abilities to tell other muggles of magic. Other Magical Worlds, such as the Magical African Horn, have a less strict policy in that much of the muggle population knows of magic and even benefit from it in their daily lives. Ancient Rites on their land are what keeps their muggles from leaking their knowledge out. But here in England muggleborn children produce accidental magic which the Ministry keeps track of, and Obviliates, or wipes the memories of the muggles who witnessed it. What’s more as I said before most muggleborns are introduced right before Hogwarts. It tends to put them at a disadvantage for a while.”

Harry had started to take notes of everything Aggie was saying and she could already foresee him needing several more in the future. Noticing her pause, Harry had looked up and smiled at her, silently encouraging her to continue. Aggie found herself smiling at his enthusiasm.

“ Now, pure bloods and half bloods are related so to speak. To start off with, half bloods are not quite ‘half’ magical. It’s a broad category referencing wizards and witches who have a muggleborn or muggles as a close ancestor ranging from parent to a twice great grandparent, meaning a witch or wizard with a muggleborn or muggle within four generations. After the fourth generation the Family Line is considered to be pure blooded. For example if a witch is in the fourth generation and marries another pure blood, her children will be pure blooded as well. Now if the same witch has a brother and he marries a muggleborn, his children become half bloods and hers remains pure bloods. A long time ago, pure bloods used to have a method to ‘speed up’ the process. This method was called a Blood Adoption Rite, and would involve blood magic to change a witch or wizard’s blood. The Ancient Families used to regularly do this and expand their numbers. Unfortunately The Ministry of Magic deemed blood magic to be Dark in the mid 1600’s and slowly these families broke down. Nowadays there are a lot more half bloods than pure bloods, because Traditions dictate the Ancient Families cannot marry a half blood, and half bloods tend to marry muggles and muggleborns resetting the timers on their families. “

Once again she noticed Harry hastily scribing down everything she told him. He was well into the notebook now. She waited for him to stop, and after he had she handed him one of the books she had retrieved earlier. Titles plainly, From Pure to Half. What Every Witch or Wizard Needs to Know About Themselves.

“ I want you to read this one first. “ Aggie said sternly. “ I have about three other books i feel are important for you to read, however this one will go much more in depth with what we have been discussing, or rather what I have been lecturing you on.” She laughed. Harry complied with her and skimmed through it.

Almost on its own however it stopped on a particular chapter and Harry found he could not move on from it. “ What’s a….’ Squib’? Harry asked, reading it directly from the page.

Aggie sighed wistfully. “ A squib is the fourth category a witch or wizard could be placed in. A squib is someone who is born from two magical parents,with the child having either no magical or very little magical abilities. A long time ago squibs were treated as well as any other family member would be. Even without magic of their own squibs could and can still make potions, use and make runes, and even use objects imbued with spells. Squibs were generally able to marry pure bloods and half bloods because their children would most likely have magic of their own. However with the limitations of marriage over time squibs, from pure bloods lines eventually started to have more squib children themselves, creating Squib Lines. For the last two centuries or so, squibs have become embarrassments for the Ancient Families and are to put it politely ‘removed’.” Aggie stumbled over her words a bit, and halted for a moment to collect herself before continuing.” One major thing to note is that Mother Magic remembers her children Dearie, and even those without magic are still remembered, and so Squib Lines follow the generational rules as well. Magic recognizes them in a sense, so if a squib is four generations in and they have a child with a pureblood that child is recognized by magic as a pure blood. It is usually much harder for squibs to follow this tradition because pure bloods tend to fear marrying them into their families, and the most common way of removing squibs from families is to send them into the muggle world.” Aggie paused at this bit losing herself in her own words and past.

“ You’re a squib then Aggie?’ He interrupted her thoughts.

“ Yes Dearie. I am a squib.” a frown still resting on her face. “ The first squib in my family since before the Blood Magic Ban. The Prewitts are an Ancient and Noble Family and my parents were under the impression I was a disgrace to them. Their eldest daughter, Heiress to the family, and I was a magicless freak.” She failed to miss the flinch from Harry when she said ‘ freak’ and intended to get back to that eventually. “ Being Lord and Lady of the family, they performed a Proclamation Rite, a rite which allowed any and all words spoken by them to be heard by any and all within the familial line no matter the distance. It also carries with it Familial Magics that lightly compel members to follow the Proclamation. With their Proclamation, they decreed me a disgrace and an embarrassment, citing actions I had apparently done to humiliate and drag the Family’s name and reputation in the mud. Truthfully, I had done nothing of the kind, but they had needed a reason behind the Proclamation besides me being a squib because the Prewitt Family Traditions, being a squib was not enough to have me disinherited. It was most likely for this reason, that several members of my immediate family were able to ignore the compulsions behind the Proclamation.” Aggie was surprised to find tears in her eyes, and was even more surprised when two small arms embraced her. 

“ I know it hurts when family doesn’t treat you like they should.” Harry told her. He continued to hug her, and Aggie felt him stiffen slightly when her arms slowly wrapped around him before he relaxed into the embrace. “ We can be like a family I think.”

“Yes, I do think we could be,” Aggie taking a risk , “ Piers,” and felt the young boy stiffen in my arms.

“Harry.” came a mumble reply.” My name is Harry” Harry looked up to see Aggie’s face. 

“ It’s very nice to meet you, Harry.” Aggie greeted him, impulsively giving his forehead a quick kiss. Harry’s face immediately turned red and he hid his face up against her. For a bit longer Harry remained before he quietly slipped out of the embrace, still red in the face, and went back to his seat. Aggie and Harry sat in silence for a moment before an alarm went off, alerting Harry to the fact that he would be late if he didn’t leave for the park soon. Startled, Aggie could only watch in wonder as all of Harry’s things flew into his bag. The library books however remained and Aggie made a point to hand them to him only for Harry to refuse.

“I can’t take them Aggie. If my family sees them, they’ll know where I go and will stop me, and worse my cousin will destroy these books.” Harry cried out.

“ Dearie, I may not be able to do magic, but twice today I have witnessed you do strong bouts of magic. Have you tried to use it to repel them away? Or to turn them invisible?” Aggie questioned him, smiling more as he once again became red in the face. 

“ Why didn’t I think of that?!” Harry turned to the three books Aggie had attempted to give him. He focused on them and tried to imbue the feeling that he got when he turned himself invisible onto the books. After a moment he looked up to her. “Are they gone? I can never tell when I am invisible to myself and I think the same would apply to them otherwise I think I would lose them.”

A wave of pride once again flowed through her as the books slowly disappeared from her sight leaving an apparently empty table. “ Yes Dearie, you have now performed three feats of magic in front of me. Now Harry I think you need to run along before you get in trouble.” Causing Harry to jump as he grabbed his books and stuffed them in his bag, only pausing when Fanged Foe caught his sleeve. “ Just take it as well Dearie. “ Aggie found herself smiling again. Harry thanked her, surprising her with another hug as he once again walked quickly out of the library. 

Aggie laughed to herself at the sight, before cleaning up the rest of the study room. She was concerned for him, but did not honestly know what to do, for now all she could do was watch and listen. She truly had to make it a priority to find a way for them to communicate between each other when young Harry began school again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Aggie. Her and Saffron are the only good things ( for now) I can give to Harry, while still giving him a terrible childhood.
> 
> The math thing is a joke because I have a degree in Math and Science and have only ever used integrals in an education format and not in a practical way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning, a character has a panic attack at the end of this chapter

Saffron was sprawled out on the pillow near Harry’s head, a soft hissing noise escaping out of her. Harry thought it was adorable that she snored only proving to him that even when she is asleep she can’t help but make noise. Harry continued to stare up at his ceiling, slowly focusing on his hand, and with a small swoosh of his hand, Harry created eight of his wisp, starting red on the left and following the rainbow to magenta all the way on the right. Using the light the wisps he had created, Harry looked at the pocket watch he had fleeced from Dudley’s abandoned gifts in his second room. Dudley had dropped it nearly as soon as he opened it for his birthday earlier this year and broke the glass face. The hour and minute hands still worked, which was good enough for Harry, and were now resting just a hair’s breadth away from the twelve. Harry tensed as he tried to count the seconds down, watching as the fastest hand on the watch circled it’s face. 

“ Eight, seven, six, “ Harry whispered, “ five, four, three, two, one.” At one Harry rose his hand again and created his ninth Wisp, a pale pink. It wasn’t as vibrant or brilliant as the other colors, but for now it would do. “ Happy birthday, Harry.” He said to himself. He knew he could have woken Saffron to be the first to wish him one, but it had become his own little Tradition to say it to himself. Besides the last time he had woken Saffron for something that she felt wasn’t reason enough for her, she had threatened to bite him and see if she was venomous. Harry turned his head to look at his best friend and smiled. He knew that even though snakes didn’t follow the importance of a birthday, besides understanding the point of surviving another year, she would still wish him one. He spent much of the last few days trying to make her understand why humans celebrated the anniversary of their birth, and if it was a little selfish of Harry to try and make another being wish him a ‘happy birthday’ (and actually mean it), then Harry was going to take what he could. 

He turned his gaze to the nine Wisps floating nearby. He carefully reached out to the Red one, reveling in the small warmth it spread into his hand. He brought the little thing to his lips, beginning another of his Traditions which he started last year after he learned to reliably create his wisps. whispering to the Wisp, Harry thanked it for granting his wish from the year before, and once more asked it to grant him another year. Once finished, Harry closed his eyes and blew gently on the Wisp, feeling as it faded out of existence. He did not need to breathe on his Wisps to send them away, however when he first started last year, he found that blowing them out just felt right to him. He soon repeated the process with Orange Wisp, thanking it for his continued good health from the year before, ignoring the phantoms pains on most of his body and especially back his thoughts brought up. Orange deserved to be thanked because, although he had received many wounds and injuries at the hands of his ‘ family’ They had healed relatively fast, with no infections. Furthermore, other than a sore throat Harry had midwinter last year, he failed to be sick. He soon asked for the Wisp to continue until the next birthday. The Yellow Wisp was secretly Harry’s favorite and he held onto it a bit longer than the other previous ones. This one he thanked for his continued strength. Strength to survive his ‘ family’, and to keep moving forward. It represented his hope to one day move beyond where he was currently. Light Green, Harry felt, was a little too simple, meant to represent his garden. He thanked it for helping him to keep his flowers and plants alive, asking for his plants to survive the upcoming winter, and for a beautiful garden he could be even more proud of in the seasons after. Dark Green was another simple one, standing for his continued ability to gather food wherever he could. Soon after, Harry reached for his Blue Wisp in both his hands. This one represented Harry’s continued wish for knowledge. Gratitude flew out of Harry for this little blue light because it truly had blessed him this year with bringing him to the library, and him learning more of his gifts and powers, which he now knew to be magic. Violet was another simple one and earned Harry’s gratitude for simply existing. It proved to him he was not a ‘Freak’ and that he was so much more than that. He asked for it to continue to be there to always be his proof. Harry kissed the little Violet flame before blowing it out. Harry pulled the next one up frowning at it. However much Harry wished, he really couldn't thank this one for anything. Harry had used this one to wish himself away from his life. He was still there, trapped and hurt by those he knew should never treat him this way. He smiled sadly at the little Magenta flame, knowing it wasn't really its responsibility. Even then Harry cupped it to his face, and whispered 'hopefully this year, yeah?" And blew it out softly. 

The last Wisp came to Harry without his permission, drawing a startled laugh from him. “ Eager are we?” Harry gently held this one to his heart, feeling so much more warmth than from the it’s brother and sisters. This Wisp was brand new, and yet Harry already wanted to thank it for what it has given him. Harry had known months ago what this Wisp would mean. It was meant to bring Harry a family, which it had in the form of both Saffron and Aggie. Harry could admit that this year had been one of his best and he only hoped the next could be even better. He held the Pink Wisp, now a vibrant Pink, to his lips and whispered a simple “thank you” before blowing it out. He decided that with what this flame had given him it could afford a year off. Now in darkness, Harry laid back down turning to rest his head with his face towards Saffron. His thoughts soon turned to how his birthday would go. While he knew his Aunt and Uncle would not celebrate or positively acknowledge it, it was almost as if they flipped a coin to see how they would treat him. Last year was very mild with him just doing his normal chores, but the year before, Harry refused to remember it. He thought it was for the best that he had passed out midway though Uncle Vernon’s ‘Birthday Beating’ as it was called. Harry shuddered still, disturbing Saffron who wiggled closer to his face, her tongue peaking out and tickling his cheek.

“ _~What’s the_ _matter Little One?~_ ” She hissed. “ _~You have disturbed my rest and shall face my wrath!~_ ” Forcing her entire body to rest over his face, as her tongue continued her assault on his face. 

“ _~Tr-truly a beast~_ ” Harry barely got out between the fit of giggles she was causing. Eventually Harry had enough and removed her from his face.

“ _~ You have not felt the full force of my wrath!~_ ” Saffron squirmed in his hand. “ _~Remove your vile hands off of me. I demand compensation for this!~_ ” Harry’s giggles had soon become a full belly laugh and he soon was gasping for air. In his struggle to breathe, Saffron got free, and slid over to rest on Harry’s chest with a glare worthy of a Basilisk. “ _~ First you awaken me, then you mock me!~_ ” Saffron bemoaned, “ _~When shall you learn to respect me, Human?~_ ”

Harry had finally settled down and truly did feel the effects of Saffron’s glare. “ _~ I am truly sorry my dear one.~_ ” He reached up to scratch her head. "~ _It’s finally my birthday, and my thoughts had gotten rather dark. I needed a laugh, and you had given one. So I must thank you~_ ” 

“~ Hmmm, yes. That is right today is your ridiculous anniversary thing.~” Saffron leaned up into his hand, forcing Harry to put some more force into his scratches, which was her goal. “ _~ There was something equally ridiculous that you wanted me to do, What was it again, let me think.~_ ” Her words had given in to pure hisses of contentment as Harry reached the spot above her eyes. Harry waited for her to speak up, however he soon realized she was more likely to fall back to sleep before she responded, so he removed his hand and booped her nose. Earning him a surprised hiss. “ _~Why did you do that!~_ ” She asked, seeming to think back to why she would deserve such a disservice. “ _~ Oh yes, I remember. We were discussing stupid human customs.~_ ” She raised her head once more and stared into Harry’s eyes. “ _~ Happy Birthday human~_ ” Holding her mouth open. For a moment, Harry feared she would regurgitate something from her stomach again, but this time as means of a birthday gift, and he reached out to cover her mouth when he saw what she was truly doing and froze. From her mouth poured forth, what Harry could only come to think of as baby Wisps, nine miniature copies of his Birthday Wisps from Red to the newest Pink one. As Saffron closed her jaws, she focused her attention on the Wisps, urging them to dance around the cupboard for a moment before one by one they blinked out of existence. Turning to thank her, Harry soon panicked as Saffron’s head began to droop. He caught her and laid her down into the crook of his neck.

“ _~Saffron are you ok? Please be okay.~_ ” 

“ _~Relax Little One, I am fine, only tired.~_ ” Her hiss was rather quieter than before. “ _~ Your present took a lot out of me.~_ ”

“ _~Thank you Saffron. It was the best present I have ever received.~_ ” He ignored the pit in his stomach at the knowledge it was the ONLY gift he had ever received. _“~ How did you do that?~_ ”

“ _~Simple Little One. You are my familiar, and I can do anything you can do. Even better one would say. Now no more speaking, I have need to rest.~_ ” And with that she slumped over falling asleep faster than Harry could think was possible. Warmth in his heart from her gift he soon followed after her. 

Thankfully Harry’s birthday had been a nonevent this year, with him being tasked with his usual chores. A nice thing to note was that he was given a meal at dinner, this time a cold, small piece of pizza and a few nibbled crusts. It had been the best birthday he could remember. He was only really disappointed in the fact that it had been more than a week since his birthday and even longer than that since he had been at the library and been able to talk with Aggie. The last three times Mrs. Polkiss had attempted to take Harry with Dudley and Piers to the park, Aunt Petunia had managed to stop her. Uncle Vernon had taken a holiday this week as well, and used his time to ‘bond’ with Dudley, taking Dudley to many of Uncle Vernon’s old ‘haunts’. But finally, Aunt Petunia had not found a strong enough reason to keep him home, and Mrs. Polkiss was taking just Harry and Piers to the park. This suited Harry just fine, because without Dudley, Piers would leave Harry alone, and hang out with some kids he had befriended. 

Harry rushed out of the park, wishing he could already be at the library, when a pull at his navel nearly caused him to fall. He closed his eyes and put his hands forward in preparation for the ground, only for a strong arm to wrap around him managing to keep him mostly on his two feet. Harry turned to the person who had caught him opening his eyes, with the intent to thank him or her, only to become startled and confused as he noticed his surroundings. He fell back a bit out of the man’s arm and nearly took a tumble. However the man had quickly reached for him again, and a second later a chair nudged his legs forcing him to sit down.

“ Of all foolhardy things I have ever seen attempted by a minor,” The man began, “ To try and apparate-” What Harry could only assume was to be a lecture from the man was abruptly cut short. Harry flinched as the man’s hand cupped his check and gently turned his face. Staring face to face, Harry first noticed the long dark hair, gleaming in the lighting, followed by the strong nose and jaw and finally resting at the dark brown, almost black eyes. He could feel the strength of the man’s hold on him, however for some reason he was not afraid. “Lily?” Muttered the man, who seemed to realize what he was doing and quickly released Harry, and drew himself back up to his full height a few paces away. He muttered a few more things to himself, which Harry couldn’t hear before his attention forced back on him, the man’s face clearly showing Harry confusion. The man made to say something but was interrupted by the main door to the library. Both had turned to the sound and saw as Aggie walked out clutching a book to her chest.

“Oh, Master Snape, how lucky I am to have caught you before you left!” She held the book out to him, “ You had signed this one out but left it on the table you were using.” She must have noticed the stunned look of the man, and turned to Harry “ Oh Hello Dearie, been a long time hasn’t it?” She smiled down at him. “ Oh where are my manners? Have you two met yet?

The man, Harry now knew to be Snape, and that he was a Master, which from some of the books Aggie had given to Harry told him that Master Snape had in fact mastered at least one branch of magic to earn the title. He wondered which branch and if he had more. Simply stated. “ We have just recently met, however have not had the time to formally introduce ourselves.” Turning once again to Harry, a frown marring his face, “ My Name is Severus Snape, Master in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, you are Mr. -” Master Snape now paused indicating for Harry to fill in the blank.

“ Uhhh, Potter, sir. Harry Potter.” Master Snape frown turned into a grimace before he nodded in Harry’s direction as if confirming what he already knew. His face cleared of emotions, he turned his attention to Aggie again. “ Now we have been introduced, I shall take my leave.” He withdrew the book Aggie handed to him, made one final glance at Harry, and walked out of the reception room. 

“Well, don’t take it personally Dearie, Master Snape is a brilliant man, but very much not a people person. It is a miracle, or maybe a curse that that man is a successful teacher at Hogwarts.” Already expecting the question she quickly followed up with “ He teaches Potions, however has been pushing for the Defense position for a few years now. The Headmaster is a stubborn fool though, and likes to look a gift horse in the mouth. I would not be surprised if Master Snape made the leap to another Wizarding School, Merlin knows any other school would die to have Master Snape.” Harry merely nodded. “ Well Dearie, I cleared out of the Study Rooms again. Something told me today would be special and all I could think of was you,” Causing Harry’s cheeks to glow pink. She laughed and led him to the room, which already had a few books and a wrapped box on the table. Harry frowned at the box, deciding it had probably been from the occupants before and Aggie had left it there in case they came back. Instead he went over to the stacks of books.  From Heirs to Lords: How to Uphold Your Title,  Salad to Dessert, The Dunderheads Guide to Not Making a Fool of Oneself at Dinner, and finally  Patience and Manners: The Proper Way to Wizardry , stacked on the table. After Harry had slide the top of over to view the other two covers, the books, apparently deciding they were not going to be read, neatly straightened themselves up, earning a chuckle from Aggie behind him “ Not all books are as rude as your  Fanged Foe , books tend to take on a personality likened to what is written inside them. I am certain you had noticed.” Harry nodded. “ Now I know you are upset I missed your birthday, but I don’t feel it's worth snubbing my gift for you.” She turned around bringing the small gift over to Harry. She went to hand it to Harry however he instead of accepting it pulled back.

“Aggie, I never told you my birthday.” Harry paused, slightly afraid now. “ How do you know my birthday?”

Aggie seemed to age before Harry’s eyes, as sadness formed more wrinkles across her face. She moved back, placing the present down and seat heavily down in a chair. She patted the chair next to her, inviting him to sit next to her. She hesitated a moment before he sat in the chair near himself slightly farther away from her, and closer to the exit. She smiled sadly before he spoke. “ I am going to tell you a story, Harry. A story of war, and death, and hopelessness. That by one little event, from one single family, ended the worst of it, bringing the Wizarding World to a stagnant peace.” And so Harry learned. She told him of a young man some 30 years ago, naming himself Lord Voldemort, who wreaked havoc on The British Isles, bringing death and destruction to both muggle and wizarding worlds. She explained how many lost their lives, mostly innocent muggles, and wizards and witches who had not bowed to his will. She told of how the war was everywhere and if it had not ended when it did, would surely have enveloped the rest of the Kingdom of Albion, noting that allies of He Who Must Not be Named, for he had put a taboo against his title, were arising in the darkest reached of other countries. She tearfully informed him of how this was the war that had taken her dear nephews, and many friends of hers. She hesitated only a few moments before telling him the rest. 

“ The war was almost complete here in the British Isles, hope had been burned away, and many Wizards and witches were coming to accept their fates, only a few had continued to fight.” She turned to Harry now, eyes gleaming. “ You’re mother and father, Harry, were fighters in the resistance, known only as The Order, by outside members, and was led by many believed to be the greatest wizard since Merlin, Albus Dumbledore. Years prior, Dumbledore, had defeated another rising Dark Lord, and was thought by many to be the one to defeat the newest one. However he was not. “ Aggie’s voice had hardened at the mention of Dumbledore, and now she took a moment to calm herself. “ It was not the so-called ‘Greatest Wizard’, but a baby. A little fifteen month old, named Harry James Potter, born to Lord James Potter and his wife Lady Lily Potter  née  Evans.” Aggie stared right into Harry’s eyes, which were now tearing up. “Rumours had come to the Order from an unknown source, detailing plans to hunt down and kill the Potters, and another Ancient and Noble Family, the Longbottoms. In response, the Potters and the Longbottoms went into hiding, each with a fifteen month old baby. No one is certain why these families were specifically targeted, but at the point in the war, no one needed a reason. Your parents had decided to put a small cottage they were raising you in under the Fidelius Charm, which hid a certain place from everyone and everything. Only the Secret Keeper could inform others of the location, and once informed a person could always find the location. The Longbottoms hid behind the wards of their Ancestral Manor.” Aggie hesitated a moment, before walking over to Harry and embracing him. “ On the night of October 31st, Lord Voldemort learned of you and your parents' location. He soon laid siege to your home alone, rapidly ending your father’s life, and climbed the stairs to the nursery, where your mother waited with you in our crib. Much is unknown about what went on in there. All we know for certain is that, You-Know-Who, killed your mother, and before he could kill you something happened and he in turn was vanquished, leaving you crying in your crib with that scar on your forehead bleeding.” Aggie lightly kissed said scar and tightened her hold on the now sobbing child. “ After that night, you became The Boy Who Lived, and many celebrated your survival. That night you were taken from the rubble and hidden away. No one knew where you were brought to, but Albus Dumbledore informed the Wizarding World that you were safe and well taken care of, and for most that was enough. There were quite a few however who constantly demanded you be brought out, those wanted you raised as a symbol, and a few others who were actually concerned for you. Dumbledore denied everyone, and eventually everyone moved on.”

She had taken to rubbing gentle circles on his back as Harry soon began hiccupping between his sobs. She soon started rocking him, bringing the too light of a boy onto her lap to make it easier on her. They held each other a very long time, with Aggie whispering support into his ears. Finally Harry had become silent, and just sat there absorbing the warmth of Aggie. His mind raced with all the information he had just learned. “ She told me they were drunks and died in a car accident, that my scar came from that accident and- and that they weren’t even decent enough to take me with them.” Anger enveloped Harry, too fast for him to get a hold on, and the chair, Harry once sat on, cracked before shattering, throwing splinters every way except at them. The other chairs soon followed suit. Aggie panicked, and pulled more tightly at Harry.

“ Dearie, you need to to calm down.” She started rubbing circles on his back. “ You’re with me Harry, your favorite old lady. We only have one chair in the room, Dearie and if it explodes, neither of us will ever need to sit down again, and I very much like to sit down.” She continued to mouth off nonsense to the boy, until he soon fell into small hiccupping giggles. “ There we go Dearie, There we go.” It was some time later, and Harry was still sitting on Aggie’s lap, taking part in a small nap. Unfortunately, although he was smaller than he should be at his age, Aggie’s legs were old and sore, and she soon had to quietly move him, but realized that Harry truly had destroyed all the other chairs. Having no other choice , Aggie hoped to gently wake Harry up, but still startled him, and filled with embarrassment, Harry stumbled off her lap, falling to the floor spreading debris out even more. Filled with shame for the damage, and afraid that Aggie would upset Harry, ducked under the table to hide from her. He made himself as small as he could be and started rocking. Panic and fear had set in and nothing else mattered to Harry but hiding and pretending not to be there. He thought he could hear a female voice calling out to him, but no matter how much he tried he could not make out what was being said, and more panic settled in. Harry had lost all sense of time, and soon he was trapped in his own head. When a hand reached out suddenly, he reacted on instinct and brought it to his mouth and bit hard. A Loud ‘Oww’, and the arm was pulled away, with Harry following after as he had failed to let go. He soon found himself trapped in the arms of someone strong. His panic rose to new heights as another hand lifted something to his mouth and forced him to drink. Almost immediately he felt numb. No emotions laid claim to him, and he just found himself sitting down not really being there.

“ I told him everythin- “ A woman’s voice was telling the other person in the room. “ He didn’t even know-” What didn’t he know? A small voice in his head told him that it was Abbie talking. Absently Harry turned to face her. “Harry Dearie, can - me?”

“I gave him - dose,” Harry realized the other person was a man. “ It - amazing - still conscious.” They went back to discussing the situation as Harry slumped in his chair. Slowly closing his eyes and finally giving into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry...


	6. Chapter 6

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was an old man who had lived a rather busy and trying life. He had stood strong during two wars, and was standing once again at the precipice of a third. He had waited much too long during the First War. Grindelwald had nearly won, all because Albus failed to keep his emotions out of his decision making. Failing to separate his love with the young man he had been, and man Grindelwald had now was, had clouded his judgement, he knew this. But still he failed to act in the beginning, when instead Albus believed that perhaps he could convince Gellert to turn fr0m the path he was following. He was too weak for following his emotions and almost let the world crumble. It was with only an ultimatum, had he finally rose to action and defeated Grindelwald. In the end though, his emotions still halted him from doing what he should have done. Gellert would live, however he was to be imprisoned for the rest of his life. 

Albus could attribute his loss of control of his emotions to his failures with the Second War. In fact it had happened long before the war, a time when Albus was only a Professor, who was sent to an orphanage to meet with a little wizard boy. This one trip was meant to be like all the others, he would arrive and watch how the child interacted with others, after that he would talk to several of the other children, and eventually the staff, Obliviating the children and much of the staff, before finally meeting the boy himself. 

Tom Marvolo Riddle. A name that Albus would spend several years hunting after, but for now was the name of a small boy that bothered him the moment he entered the child’s room. Albus had a strong belief in his instincts ( it was his emotions he held a disdain for), and his instincts informed him that in front of him was a future Great Wizard. Albus had instantly taken a dislike to this child, seeing too much of Gellert and even a younger version of himself in this boy. There was a cruelness that Albus could not ignore, and had he had his way, this boy would not be allowed into the halls of Hogwarts. But of course it was not to be, and he did his job, welcoming this boy into his halls. For the next 7 years, Albus’ fear and disdain for this boy grew with him, even following the now young man out of Hogwarts. His disdain had even led to him denying Tom a position in Hogwarts. And when Riddle had finally become a Dark Lord, Albus had only sighed. Soon it was not just Albus who came to fear this new threat, but much of The Magical British World. Like before Albus had hesitated, but not in lost love, but in fear. It was once again almost too late. But a prophecy had saved him. It had been a true blessing, coming to him when he truly needed one. This Dark Lord was not meant to be his burden to bear but someone else's. He of course would guide them, for he was the only one who could. Many claimed him to be the Light Lord, and however much he denied that title when others called him it, he had personally come to accept it. After it was all said and done, and Voldemort was vanquished, Albus took a much deserved rest. He had rushed to the cottage, taking young Harry from the arms of his godfather, letting the grieving young man run off to get revenge. He had held the now orphan, and bottled up any fillings for him. His grief at the loss of the Potters, his fear that Voldemort would come back, and his sympathy for this poor boy, all locked away deep behind his Occlumency shields. He had failed twice now and a third time was not an option. His emotions would be controlled and he would not become attached to this baby, instead he handed him to Hagrid, with explicit directions to meet him at Number 4 Privet Drive later on. From there, Albus began to plan.

And now nearly eight years later, Albus held true to his decision. He had not once visited Harry, and in fact relied only on reports from others he trusted, to check up on him. Which was exactly what Albus had found himself reading. Arabella had sent in another missive, describing concern for the boy. Claims that he is still too small for a boy his age, and that she was certain he was being harmed in some way by. But Albus could not bring himself to act. Were he to go there and find out the truth, he was certain he would lose the never ending battle to control his emotions. So, with a mighty sigh, Albus held the corner of the letter to the candle’s flame, and watched as the flame encompassed the paper, before Vanishing the remains. A sad trill from Fawkes, who was only a youngling right now, stirred Albus from his musing. 

“I know, Fawkes. But I must act for the Greater Good this time.” 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


It was warm, Harry had decided, almost too warm. He opened his eyes, panicking for a moment when he struggled to get out from under the heavy quilt over him. Finally he managed to get his arms out, and shuffled up to the head board to sit. He looked around at his surroundings, trying to gather where he was and what had happened. He soon came to realize he was in a small office, and with him remembering he was last in the library, figured he was in Aggie’s private one. There were a few things that confused him though, for one, there was no office desk, for another a bed, which he was currently in, was placed in the centre of the room. Finally what confused Harry the most was that he was alone. Memories of his panic attack had flooded back to him with vague memories of Aggie and another person helping him, but there was clearly no one around at the moment. Harry being Harry decided that he would investigate the office a bit, his legs a bit wobbly, as he struggled out of the bed, and over to the bookcase nearby. He ran his fingers along the binding of these books, and read the titles. Finding nothing of interest, Harry turned his attention to the rest of the room, but without a desk for Harry to snoop through, he had found himself bored. With nothing else to do, Harry headed for the door, and finding it unlocked, turned the knob and pushed the door open a few centimetres, just enough for him to peek his eye through. Deeming it safe, Harry was about to open it all the way when he began to hear voices. Harry instead pulled the door almost completely closed and leaned against it to listen.

“ - You can just ignore what you saw and what I’ve told you about that boy?” He heard Aggie’s voice. “ Just ignore it all, just to keep your beliefs that Harry is just like his father? A ‘spoiled, egotistical, brat’ as you put it? Even if the proof of otherwise is shoved right into your face? I had thought you were a smart man Master Snape, but now I see you are the worst kind of idiot.”

“ Aggie ple-”

“That’s Madam Prewitt to you.” Harry winced at that. Master Snape must really be in trouble if Aggie was forcing him to call her by her title. 

“Fine, Madam Prewitt. What do you wish me to do? Enter that room and lift the boy in my arms? Hug him to death, and run to the ends of the Earth? You know who I am, to whom I have most unfortunately ensnared my life to? Even if I brought my concerns to the man, do you honestly accept that after many years of inaction, he would rise to the task?” Disdain dripped from Master Snape’s voice, causing Harry to shuffle uncomfortably. Whoever this man was, Snape clearly had little faith in him. 

“ Perhaps not, but is there nothing you could do? I’m only a squib, Master Snape, and a disinherited one as well. I have no pull in the Wizarding World. I’ve lost too many friends in the war.”

“It would come down to politics and I hold about as much sway in that category as you do, perhaps even less. Ignoring the simple fact that I owe the man considerably for keeping me out of Azkaban, it would look most suspect and lead to a disaster were I to call him out on this. Albus holds too much power even now. I fear any attempts would end grievously for all of us.”

“Then there is little hope of us getting that boy away from his abusive home.” Aggie sounded defeated to Harry. He had gathered they were talking about him, and although he could figure out they had little to no hope of helping him, his heart still swelled from their attempts. His thoughts had focused on the name ‘Albus’ recognizing it as the name of the person Aggie had claimed had taken him as a baby, and presumably left him with the Dursleys. Harry was surprised at the sudden anger that flowed through him, but rushed to swallow it as to not have his actions repeated from earlier. Since he had first come to the door, his memories of the incident from before had come back to him, and he grimaced at his earlier actions, shame and embarrassment his chief emotions for showing such weakness. Harry suddenly noticed the voices had travelled much closer, and mentally berated himself for losing focus and missing out on the rest of the conversation and ran back to his bed, for fear of getting caught listening.

“It seems that our conversation was not as private as we had discerned, Madam Prewitt.“ Master Snape drawled, upon entering the room, with just a push on the door. “ It also seems that Mr. Potter has finally awoken from his rest.”

“Hello Dearie, How are you feeling?” Aggie rushed over, smoothing out the comforter over Harry, and checking his temperature with the back of her hand on his forehead.

“I’m Okay, Aggie, I promise.” Harry confirmed, trying not to blush under Aggie’s mothering.

“None of that now, Harry. Master Snape is here to run a few tests on you. You gave us a great scare, and we only want to make sure you are truly well.” Even as Aggie was explaining, Severus had pulled out his wand, and was waving it over Harry’s body, the tip glowing red, then blue, and even green.

“It seems that Mr. Potter will live to see another day.” and with that Master Snape put his wand away, crossed the room and sat on a rather ornate chair. Aggie thanked him and sat at the foot of Harry’s bed. 

“ Well Dearie, I think we have much to talk about, however you must feel rather tuckered out. So i think the main conversation is going to have to happen at a later date.” She held up her hand to stop Harry from interrupting, “ I know Dearie. A lot of things have come to light, and I fear I overwhelmed you too much and for that I am truly sorry.” 

Harry leaned over and hugged her. “ It’s okay Aggie. I’m okay right now.”

“As touching as this moment has become, I do have other plans for today and as unset draws near, I insist we speed up this conversation and move on.” An apparently disgruntled Master Snape explained from his chair. “ At the moment we cannot plan for anything and it is quite obvious that a certain trouble maker is growing tired and must be brought home shortly.” His claim only being verified by the jaw breaking yawn from Harry, which Harry failed to cover with his arm. 

“As much as it pains me at the moment, Severus is correct Harry, you’ve been asleep for about three hours, and we-”

“Three hours! “ Harry started to freak out. Mrs. Polkiss was meant to pick Harry and Piers up from the park at 5:30, which would have been nearly 30 minutes ago. Fear at being left behind, soon washed away under the terror at how much trouble he’d be in when he returned to Number 4. He startled a bit as a hand rested on his shoulder.

“Harry calm down, Master Snape has already handled Mrs. Polkiss and her son.”

“ Yes, I am quite skilled at cleaning up messes made by miscreants.” Only a hint of a smile was Harry’s confirmation that Master Snape was not actually blaming him.

“ How did you handle it?” Harry’s curiosity was its own beast, and even though he was exhausted, he still wanted to know things.

“ I simply wiped their memories of bringing you to the park.” Master Snape smirked.

“ Wiped their-,” Harry started, wide awake now. “ I want to learn how to do that!” He looked almost pleadingly at Master Snape, earning him such a stern glare, that had him almost hiding behind Aggie.

“ That, I can assure you, shall not happen any time soon, if at all. Mind magic is much too complicated for a child, and indeed most adults to even attempt.” Harry only nodded, and put it out of his mind. He trusted Master Snape on this. 

“Now however, I think it’s time for you to leave Harry. Master Snape has promised to apparate you home, you just need to tell him where you live, okay Dearie?” 

“What do you mean by apparate?” Harry questioned. Earning a scoff from Master Snape.

“ You apparated only hours ago. How is it you do not know the word?”

“ You mean the teleporting thingy? That was an accident! I didn’t mean to.” Harry Exclaimed trying to defend himself.

“ Accidentally…” Master Snape trailed off, his mind not really comprehending what Harry had said.

“Dearie, I think it's best to tell Severus your address now, before it gets too much later than it already is.” Her smile telling Harry she was enjoying Master Snape being stumped.

Harry really didn’t want to, not wanting either of them to meet his Aunt or Uncle. But, with no other way he quietly mumbled his address causing Master Snape’s eyebrow to raise.

“ You live near Arabella Figg.” Not really asking, leaving Harry only to nod in response. “ I know of apparation point near by we shall use.” He rose up motioning for Harry and Aggie to follow him out of the office. As Harry went to exit, a thought popped in his head and he turned to Aggie to ask.

“Aggie, why is there a bed in your office? You don’t live in the library do you?”

“No Dearie, Master Snape had only transfigured my desk to a much needed bed. I’m glad you reminded us, because otherwise I’d be without a desk, and I rather have a need for it. Master Snape if you don’t mind.” He obliged, waving his wand over the bed, turning it into a lard dark wood desk, with a light and other office supplies on its surface. 

“I want to do that.” was Harry’s response, a look of awe on his face.

“And you shall learn how to -,” Master Snape began. Stooping only as the desk before him was transfigured back into a bed. Sort of. In the desk’s place was what clearly was a bed, however it had no sheets, or pillows, or mattress. Its legs were all different sizes, and the headboard was inexplicably a bright yellow. The lamp and office supplies also rested on top of it rather neatly. “ - now apparently.” Once again swooshing his wad over the furniture.” Perhaps, if there are no more surprises, we may continue?” He rather pointedly ignored Aggie’s look of pure smugness, and pointedly raised his eyebrow at Harry, who found himself once again only responding with a nod, his neck was getting sore. With a quick goodbye to Aggie who handed Harry his gift from earlier with a wink, Master Snape took hold of Harry’s arm before Harry felt his body being squished, and they disappeared, only to reappear in an alley that Harry recognized. Master Snape released Harry and strolled out onto the sidewalk, with Harry rushing to keep up. At the house, Harry was happy to note that Uncle Vernon’s vehicle was not in the driveway, meaning it would only be Aunt Petunia. While she would only tell him later what had transpired, for now it wouldn’t be altogether too big of a scene in front of Master Snape. At the front door, Harry paused and turned to Master Snape, who only stared back at him. Sighing, Harry opened the door and walked into the parlor.

“Aunt Petunia, I’m back. “ Harry stated rather redundantly as his Aunt Petunia was already in the room, glaring at him. 

“ How dare you keep me waiting! I saw Donna drive by twenty minutes ago, Where were- YOU!” Aunt Petunia practically screeched upon noticing Master Snape.

“Hello Tuny,” Severus mocked. “ How nice it is to see you again. Shrill as ever it would seem.” He shook his head in response to Harry’s surprise look and turned back to Petunia. “ Mr. Potter here, had an accident at the park, causing him to stay behind. Mrs. Polkiss understood completely and agreed to leave him in my care.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just enter my home! There’s enough freakiness in my home with the brat! The last possible thing I need is to deal with you! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Her screams accompanied by a heavy stomp with her foot. Harry began to shake, realizing that if she was this angry in front of Master Snape, it would only be worse later without him there, and it would be much much more worse with Uncle Vernon afterwards. A whimper from him, had Master Snape turn towards him, ignoring Aunt Petunia’s rant.

“ Mr. Potter, what do you want to do?” He almost casually flicked his wand at Aunt Petunia, silencing her. 

“She’s too angry, can’t you just take me away?” Harry pleaded. He had tears in his eyes, and feared his Aunt and Uncle more than ever before.

“ Unfortunately, that is not possible at this time. Aggie and I are puzzling over it.” Master Snape promised him, His hands firmly gripping Harry’s shoulders, grounding him. “ As much as it pains me to leave you here, it is what we must do for now.”

Harry nodded, his entire body trembling. He knew nothing could be done for now, but had faith in Aggie, and Master Snape. However much he wished they could just disappear, Harry knew it was a rash decision and would end poorly. At the moment, Harry needed a solution for his Aunt Petunia. At the rate she was going, it would be very likely he would end up dead tonight. 

“ What if- what if you wiped her memory of me leaving today? And of you returning me here?” He suddenly asked.

Nodding, Master Snape rose to face Aunt Petunia, who was currently turning red in the face while she attempted to scream. “ Well, Tuny, I wish I could claim not to get any joy from this, but I deplore lying.” He aimed his wand at her, whispering in incantation, side eyeing Harry to make certain he hadn’t heard ( he hadn’t unfortunately) and then put his wand away. Aunt Petunia instantly turned docile, and Master Snape nodded. “ Well Mr. Potter, I shall take my leave. I expect to see you at the library soon to begin our lessons.” And with that he stepped out of the house, and apparated away. 

‘Lessons, What lessons?” Harry thought. He turned back to Aunt Petunia, only for her to grab his arm and drag him to his cupboard.

“In now! No food tonight. Just go to sleep, Freak.” She pushed him in slamming the door and locking him in. Harry was honestly rather relieved, although he was hungry, today had been just too much for him, and he did need to sleep. He removed his shoes, and put them underneath his cot, where he promptly laid down, earning him a disgruntled hiss from a previously sleeping Saffron. All too soon he was asleep all too soon awoken by his Uncle and cousin barreling into the house. He heard his Uncle asking where the ‘Freak’ was, with Aunt Petunia informing him that Harry was already under the stairs, earning a grunt in response. Harry shuffled over in his cot, realizing he was still dressed and his bag was on his cot as well. He striped first and went to move his bag when he remembered that Aggie had handed him a gift before they left. Smiling, Harry produced a few Wisps before he practically ripped open his bag to grab it. Once in his hands though, Harry hesitated to open it.

“~What is that?~” Saffron rose up and slid over to get a better look.

“~ It’s a gift from Aggie. You know the old lady I told you about. She runs the Library I go to.~” Saffron nodded in response, poking her tongue out to scent the gift.

“~Mine was better~”

“~I haven’t opened it yet.~” Harry laughed “ ~She didn’t Just give me a box, Saffron.~”

“~Mine was still better~” She hissed and turned away to lay down in the center of Harry’s pillow.

“~Sure it was. It was the best gift I ever received.~” He honestly told her, before deciding to open the package. He carefully ripped open the paper, relishing this feeling of opening his first physical present, Saffron had still given him his first other he just could not open it. Finally he reached the gift itself and discovered it to be a book. He smiled at the obvious gift, however after he opened it, Harry had soon noticed it was actually a journal. An index card fell out, and Harry grabbed it and turned it over as he spotted writing on it.

_ Harry, _

_ I just wanted to wish you a most joyous birthday. I realize as I write this, that we will need to have a talk about who you are, but I know since you are reading this, we have. I have a feeling that it will not go as well as one could hope, and so I feel the need to say I am truly sorry. _

_ Now know this, I have come to care for you greatly Harry, and if I could I would take you far away from those terrible people you live with. You have not told me everything, I know, however I am a smart woman and have figured out quite a bit. As more of a gift for your birthday please be aware that I have contacted a few associates of mine, and will look into a solution for you.  _

_ This gift I am sure you have already flipped through, is magnificent. A friend of mine created two a long time ago, and left them with me for safe keeping , before she died in the war. She had plans to mass produce them, and become rich, which unfortunately had not happened. She had no one left for me to return it to, so I hope she would not mind. As I stated before, these journals are magnificent. You see, they are connected. Were you to write in the journal you currently possess, it would in turn appear in mine, and vice versa. The pages clear away after a while, unless you mark a certain rune in the top corner. Unfortunately I don’t remember what rune it is, and I cannot find her notes, so it will be a future endeavor for us later.  _

_ Dearie, if you ever need to talk, for help or just to find out what my favorite flowers are, all you need to do is write it out. I am here for you. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Aggie _

  
Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and hugged the journal to his chest. It was much too late for him to reach out to Aggie, but it would be one of the first things he would do tomorrow. For now Harry laid down, tucking the journal under his pillow. After everything that had happened to him today, Harry was just happy to end it with quite literally a happy note.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for child abuse. It is a small paragraph and is under the lined out section if you wish to skip it, a summary of it will be in the end notes.

True to his word, the first thing Harry had done after waking was to thank Aggie for her wonderful gift. He also mentioned the lessons that Master Snape had told him about, with her replying that she was glad he had changed his mind on them. Over the next few days, Harry was unable to visit the Library. Thankfully with the journals he was able to keep in contact with Aggie, and in turn with Master Snape as well. Aggie had informed Harry that she would use the floo, which he learned was what wizards used to speak with each other and even use as a way to travel. He also used the journal to learn more of what Aggie had been telling him before his panic attack. Safely in his cupboard and with Saffron nestled in the crook of his neck, Harry found he could better handle what Aggie was telling him. His opinions on certain events in his life were wide and varied.

But his most prevailing feeling was a very strong disdain for one Albus Dumbledore. It was very surprising to Harry because he had never even met the wizard, and yet he found himself wishing to yell and scream at him. Unfortunately, no matter how much it would make him feel good, Harry knew that it would not end well in the long run. Many of the books on the history of the British Magical World had literal chapters titled after the man. From  Hogwarts: A History, The Ninth Edition written by Bathilda Bagshot, a book that in Harry’s hands had literally sung and glowed, had mentioned many accolades of the man; From his appointment to Gryffindor Prefect his fifth and sixth year, to his rise as Head Boy in his seventh, to several of his own personal merits outside of the school including his obtaining of a Masters in Transfiguration and Defense Against The Dark Arts. His appointment to Professor of Transfiguration and eventually Deputy Headmaster were also listed bookending several chapters defining the final battle between Albus and a man called Grindelwald that Harry had to look up in another history book to find out who he was. Finally his earnings of the Order Merlin First Class, which Harry gathered were held to the same standard as being knighted by the Queen, and his appointment to Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump to the ICW were also mentioned. And while it was a truly impressive resumé, Harry was unsure what most of that had to do with the literal history of Hogwarts, but further research had informed him the Bagshot was in fact a family friend to the Dumbledores.

Furthermore, Harry was unable to read an earlier edition as there was not a copy within the library, with Aggie only citing that the ninth edition was the now official edition, and all others were discontinued, meaning earlier editions were rare and valuable. This irked Harry to no end, and he added it as a goal to track down all other editions. His correspondence with Aggie had greatly improved his mood and he found himself not too upset with his inability to get to the library. The only true upset was that he was unable to research everything he wanted, feeling bad for making Aggie hunt around the library to find out what he wanted, no matter how much she denied it bothering her.

On the following Monday, Uncle Vernon’s holiday ended, with much grumbling from the man. Harry, personally, was grateful, as without his Uncle, Harry had more freedoms, being able to spend more time outside in the back garden or in the house. Another important bit that had happened was Dudley threw his first fit in a while. It seems that Dudley had not forgotten how much money he ‘earned’ at the park, and how much he had lost when he was forced to spend the week with his dad, and had demanded they go to the park every day this week. After much yelling on his part, Aunt Petunia finally gave in and Harry found himself able to go to the library for an entire week! During the week, Harry began much of the lessons Aggie had wished to set up, including proper etiquette and Traditions within the Wizarding World. At first Harry was disgruntled at these lessons, for he did not see a need for them. It was only after Aggie had pointed out to Harry that he was in fact Heir Apparent to the Ancient and Noble House Potter, and that he would behind in these aspects to his fellow Heirs that he would no doubt meet up and ally ( Harry preferred the term befriend) within Hogwarts, he quickly changed his tune, taking to them like a duck to water. Aggie had also made a point to find several history books and both biography and autobiographies of any Potters that her contacts could dig up. Surprisingly enough to Harry there turned out to be quite a few, dating back to the days of King Arthur and Merlin himself. Aggie had put special emphasis on learning his own history and lineage, explaining to Harry that a Family’s Pride and Reputation were valued more than gold and jewels. Although they could not find the Potter Family Grimoire or Lineage Tree without entering Gringotts, Aggie had much hope that Harry would not accidentally offend or insult another Family. 

A major thing that had surprised Harry was that while he was Heir Apparent to the House Potter, he was not in fact the last member of House Potter. It had excited him to no end to learn that he had family in France, the States, and even Ireland. But before he could immediately write off to them, Aggie and surprising Master Snape, who would make several appearances to help aid Harry's education, cautioned him about reaching out. Not as a form of danger for Harry, but rather, in concern of what Dumbledore would do upon finding out Harry was conversing with those in the Wizarding World. To all three it had quickly become apparent that Dumbledore wanted Harry to be uneducated and new to the Wizarding World, for what purpose, only Master Snape could speculate but he had refused to share his beliefs.

This had rapidly become the standard of young Harry’s life during the next few years. As summer drew to a close, much of Harry’s meetings with Aggie slowed down, still they remained mostly teaching Harry as much about the Wizarding Culture as he could. Unfortunately winter put a big dent in their scheduling with Harry being in school most of the time, and the weather turning for the worse meaning no trips to the local park. Mrs. Polkiss was not deterred however, and would often pick up Harry and Dudley to take them to the mall, which while close to the library still was not close enough for Harry to walk safely in the winter months. This had been solved by Harry siphoning off Dudley's hidden funds. Why Dudley thought that putting all of the money he bullied out of other children and his daily allowance in a sack labeled “Not Money” and shoved it behind the shed in the back garden, Harry would never understand. He took enough coins and bills, content with the knowledge Dudley rarely counted his loot, to pay for taxis to take him to and from the mall to the library on these days.

After another year and summer, leading to Harry’s tenth birthday and a new Wisp ( a beautiful Sea Green for Harry’s heritage) Master Snape had turned his lessons in history and culture towards teaching the theory behind the main branches of magic. Soon Master Snape had turned to Sir, and from Sir became Severus, or if Harry was feeling cheeky and Severus was in a decent enough mood, Sev. By the end of that second summer, Severus had even taken to making potions with Harry aiding in collecting and preparing ingredients. Harry prided himself on the knowledge that although he had not made any of those potions, he had helped prepare them, correctly handling almost any ingredient put in front of him. Another winter came and went, followed again by a rather warm spring, which continued to the next summer.

____________________________________________________________________________

Harry’s birthday was now only twelve days away. He was also three days into the worst punishment he had had in awhile. Dudley had fallen down the stairs a few days ago, spraining his wrist from the landing. Of course Harry had been blamed, ignoring the fact Harry had been in the back garden tending to his roses. Uncle Vernon had taken his belt to Harry’s back, leaving several open wounds, causing Harry to struggle to even walk without wincing in pain. Thankfully his magic had healed him almost overnight. Now though Harry was three days in without food. He had a few stale crackers to survive on, and Saffron used her tunnels to drag in a few apples from the back garden, but it was not enough, especially after using up a lot of magic to heal himself. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Harry had a plan though. Sev, had refused to teach Harry any magic, managing to keep out most incantations from their lessons. This hadn’t stopped Harry though, who used his will and want to manipulate his magic more than an incantation. And while Sev, always stared at him in suspicion, he had no proof Harry was using magic since he didn’t have a wand for Severus to test. Tonight Harry would unlock his cupboard door and sneak into the kitchen to pillage the fridge. He knew how much food was there and had spent the last three days eyeing and calculating what he could eat without his Aunt and Uncle noticing what would be gone. He also had plans to smuggle some more crackers from the pantry. After midnight Harry sat quietly in his cupboard, waiting for the door to his Aunt and Uncle’s bedroom being slammed shut. Saffron, whose feathered wings had started to grow in contrast to how she remained rather small, had nestled in his hair. Harry had already focused his magic to make himself invisible and silent. 

“ _~What are we waiting for little one?~_ ” Saffron’s tongue flicked against Harry’s ear, causing him to jump, almost dislodging her from her perch to which he loudly proclaimed her displeasure.

“ _~That wasn’t my fault and you know it! Now be quiet, I’m trying to listen.~_ ” So absorbed in his conversation, Harry had almost missed the quiet thump of a door above him closing. He rushed to his door and held his hand over the spot where the lock was, and focused. With a small clink, Harry hesitated to open the door, waiting only a moment to confirm he heard no sounds. Still he slowly opened the door, peaking to make sure no one was around. Slowly he climbed out and ran to the kitchen, opening the fridge and stuffing his pockets with what he could. He repeated the process in the pantry. Once finished, Harry turned away to the kitchen, his stomach grumbling. When he passed the kitchen table however, he stopped to grab an orange out of the fruit bowl. It was mostly ornamental and would be thrown out in a few days since Dudley and Uncle Vernon refused to eat fruits. Harry claimed his prize but stopped when something below the orange caught his attention. Carefully so as not to make any noise he removed all the fruit, to clear out what he soon realized to be a letter. 

Mr. H. Potter.

The Cupboard under the Stairs,

4, Privet Drive,

Little Whinging

SURREY

A letter it seemed, addressed to him. Anger spiked though him, first at the fact this letter was hidden from him, but soon that was ignored in favour of the realization that his letter, from Hogwarts, Harry noticed absently, was addressed to under the bloody stairs. Saffron hissed alerting Harry to the fact that he had started to literally burn up the letter with a small flame shining at its corner. He quickly put it out with his fingers, burning the tips, leading to him putting them in his mouth. 

“ _~This is my letter, Saffron.~_ ” Harry hissed at her.

“ _~ Then take it with us~_ ”

“ _~If I do, who ever put it here will notice it’s gone.~_ ”

“ _~Then use your magic. Use that spell you learned. You know, the one that you kept practicing in our small room? Filling it with copies of your book almost crushing me?~_ ” Hissed Saffron in irritation.

Pleased with her idea, Harry scratched under her jaw. “~ You are so smart and wonderful Saffron. Whatever would I do without you~” His scratching managed to keep Saffron busy from noticing the sarcasm dripping from his voice. Harry placed his letter down on the counter and held both his hands over it. Severus was very careful whenever he used a spell in front of Harry, making sure to either cast non verbally or even going so far as to not do magic in front of him. Harry would latch on to any magic he could, and Severus feared he would hurt himself practicing something well beyond his range. Harry just thought he was being a giant meanie. However Snape had been known to slip up, leading to Harry learning the unlocking spell, and the levitating spell, but most importantly the spell Harry was about to use.

“Geminio” He whispered, keeping both his hands over the letter, slowly separating them. The original letter followed his left hand, with a copy forming and following his right. Harry held still when two letters rested on the counter ignoring the sweat trickling down his neck. Sometimes the spell held for a second, before rubber banding back into one item. Quite a few times the spell instead created too many copies, threatening to overwhelm him. After a few more moments nothing seemed to change and Harry relaxed. He smiled to himself and lifted up both letters. His smile soon turned to a frown as he realized, he hadn’t copied the letter, but just the envelope. Voicing his problem to Saffron, she only shrugged, telling him to hide the empty envelope and hope they didn’t look too much into it. He sighed and agreed, placing the copy in the bowl and covering it with fruit. With any luck Aunt Petunia would just pour the bowl into the trash, letter and all.

Harry scurried back to his cupboard shutting the door and locking himself in. He slowly feasted on a corn beef sandwich. And hid the rest of his food under the floorboards. He wasn’t too worried about rats or mice eating his food, since Saffron was more than content to eat any vermin that tried. Finished, he turned his attention to the letter. He knew this was his Hogwarts acceptance letter, both Severus and Aggie claimed it was sent out of his birthday, which confused him since he had another week and a half. Ignoring that however, Harry felt a spark of joy at the realization that he would be going to Hogwarts, and escaping this place for the next nine months, knowing he wouldn’t return to Number 4 for the winter or spring holidays. 

Harry carefully lifted the seal, sliding the letter out like it was made of priceless jewels. He put the envelope down carefully, knowing he wanted to save both. He skimmed the letter, noting all the important bits, like his book and supply lists, both of which Severus had already procured for Harry. His trip to Diagon Alley would mostly be for his wand, his robes, and most importantly the trip to Gringotts where he would claim his Heirship. It was very important Harry got to Gringotts. Aggie and Harry had researched the proper way to deal with the goblins, and he had no intentions of starting what he planned to be a long and prosperous partnership on the wrong foot. 

He skimmed down the rest of the letter and took note of the end.

_ Any questions and or concerns may be addressed directly to me, and I will endeavor to help in any way possible. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Deputy Headmistress _

_ Minerva McGonagall _

Severus had informed him that Professor McGonagall was a harsh taskmaster with little to no patience for shenanigans. (The irony was not lost on Harry that this was coming from Severus.) She was also the head of Gryffindor, and Severus was almost positive meant she would be his head of house. Aggie and Harry knew otherwise. 

With nothing left to lose Harry decided to do just that. He was not sure he could manage to get his letter sent out. He was concerned about the whole owl bit. Severus had told him Wizards used owls for their mail, but he was unsure how to reach out to get a hold of one. He quickly penned a note in his journal to Aggie hoping she could help with the dilemma. Her response came promptly informing him that he could hand it to a mail carrier and it would end up where it needed to go. Harry thanked her before returning to the letter he was about to send.

  
  


_ Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, _

_ I have several concerns and I truly hope that you are in fact able to help me. You see, I have noticed weird things happening to me since I was a child, things floating and the like. At first I thought this letter to be a joke, but now realize that Hogwarts must be a school for people like me. Magic as you called it does fit into what I have experienced and I can only hope this is not a cruel joke. _

_ My first concern is that I do not know my ‘ Magical Guardian’ and therefore, I am unsure of both what Diagon Alley is and how to get there? You see, I live with my Aunt and Uncle and they are clearly non magical people. They have never told me about magic or this magical world you have claimed exists. Is this a regular occurrence? I would hope that such a school would send some more information to support this letter? _

_ My other concern is that I am afraid I do not have any money for myself. Is there a fund for students like me to help buy what we need? There seems to be quite a lot that I need to get for myself. Even if I have to work in the school’s kitchen or clean rooms I don’t mind. _

_ I thank you for any which help you may give. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Harry Potter. _

Harry had decided to play up to the idea that he was as ignorant as Severus believed Dumbledore wanted him to be. He hoped that she could in fact help, but he had every intention of getting to Diagon Alley on his own if needed. He had enough money from Dudley’s stash to take a taxi to London, however he would not be able to go there, do what he needed, and get back in one day. Aggie had told Harry the entrance was actually a Wizarding tavern with rooms to rent out, so he could do that if he had to.

Harry folded his letter up, yawning as he remembered how late it was. Saffron had already abandoned him and was sleeping peacefully on his pillow. He laid down and soon followed her.

The next several days had passed slowly for Harry. He had caught the mail carrier early the next morning and was able to get his letter sent off, but now even after nearly a week he had no response. Aggie had tried to curb his fears by telling him it would take several days for the letter to make it to Hogwarts, seeing as Hogwarts was hidden somewhere way up north in Scotland. Still, Harry couldn’t help but feel like he was running out of time. Two days before his birthday, Harry had basically given up on getting a reply and so he began to plan for his own trip. He hoped to go within a week of his birthday. He had already decided that he would bring Saffron, not only would she be some much needed protection, he doubted she would be willing to be left behind. He also figured food and clothing would not be an issue seeing as he’d be staying at a tavern, and was buying clothes including robes in Diagon Alley.. So he would be traveling very light. The main concern was how he would be treated when he returned. Severus and Aggie still had no true plan to get him away safely which meant he would have to return to Number 4, and although he would rather stay in Diagon Alley, he doubted he could get away with it.

Harry had taken to watching for the mail carrier, politely collecting the mail every day. And now he sat exhausted on the front steps, awaiting for the mail once again. Last night, Harry had not managed to fall asleep, after his birthday tradition, to which he created a new Scarlet Wisp to wish for a better connection to the family he learned he had, he had laid awake with a feeling of apprehension. He just could not relax. He was feeling that lack of sleep, at the moment, and he kind of just wanted to go back to his cot and sleep. Thankfully it looked like his birthday would be a nonevent, with Uncle Vernon on a business trip, and Aunt Petunia taking Dudley to the zoo. He was actually locked in his cupboard, but he refused to be stuck in there when he didn’t have to be. Saffron had quietly readily agreed with him and she was now sunbathing on a large flat rock Harry had found for her in the back garden. Harry wished he could be back there with him, but this letter had become an obsession for him.

Harry had closed his eyes for only a minute he felt before someone was shaking his shoulder. Surprised, Harry had fallen backwards into a bush, only to have the hand reach out and pull him to his feet.

“Sorry ‘ bout that youngin’.” The mail carrier smiled down at him. “ I come tah notice, there ain’t no one just greetin’ the mail unless they wantin’ somethin’. And I’m figurin’ this letter is yeh prize?” having held out a letter addressed to Harry. Harry smiled, grabbed the letter and the Dursleys' mail before he barreled into the house and ran to bother Saffron with the letter.

‘ _~Saffron, It’s Here! It’s finally here!~_ ”Harry let out a small whoop. He thought that this must be how other children feel about their acceptance letter, however that had been denied by him, and Harry refused to let his enthusiasm be denied again. “ _~I hope Professor McGonagall has a solution to help me get and from Diagon Alley.~_ ” Unfortunately Aggie, never went to Hogwarts, and was unable to help him get there, seeing as she refused to get a license, and Severus was on a ‘mission’ for Dumbledore and he had been unavailable. Saffron pointedly ignored him and instead spread out her wings, that almost overnight had grown out even more, dwarfing her body in comparison. It concerned him but Saffron only seemed to preen under his worry.

“ _~ Do you want me to read it out loud to you? Who am I kidding? Of course you do~_ ” Harry cheerfully proclaimed, ignoring her rude hisses.

_ Harry, _

_My boy, it grieves me truly that we have never formally met or have been introduced. I am Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock, and Supreme Mugwump. But perhaps the most important title I uphold is the title of your Magical Guardian. Although we have never spoken, I have been in correspondence with your Aunt and Uncle for much of your childhood. They both have sent me much information on your childhood, and I am most grateful to them._

_ However my boy, it upsets me greatly to read you claims they have never informed you of your heritage. Several letters from your Aunt, in fact, inform me otherwise, and I fail to see a reason as to why you would lie. I promise that I shall reach out further with your Aunt and Uncle to discuss your behaviour. It is my hope that you leave behind any hurtful stories like this one out of Hogwarts. We pride ourselves on our honesty, especially us Gryffindors, which I have no doubt you shall find yourself becoming as I’m sure your Aunt Petunia informed you was your parents House when they walked these halls. _

_ As to your expedition to Diagon Alley, half no fear. I shall send to you a person employed here at the school. Hagrid is a wonderful fellow and will be more than happy to escort you around. He knew your parents well, and regularly played with you as a baby. He will guide you and make sure you do not get lost and that you are home in plenty of time for dinner. Be not concerned with money, my boy, for although you do not reach the criteria for help from Hogwarts funding, your parents had the forethought to pay for your entire tuition to Hogwarts, as well as left you a decent sum in an inheritance. It isn’t enough for you to live off of, however you should be able to use it for your school supplies, with enough to get by after school until you are employed.  _

_ I cannot tell you how much joy I am filled with at the thought you shall finally grace our halls. I hope that you shall come to see Hogwarts as a home away from home like many before you, including your parents. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is truly the Greatest School, if I do say so myself, and you shall have no better education. Hagrid shall be at your home on the 5th of August, so please be prepared for him. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Headmaster of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry _

_ Order of Merlin First Class _

_ Chief Warlock _

_ Supreme Mugwump _

_ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _

  
  


Harry practically vibrated with rage. How dare he? Dumbledore had just brushed aside all his concerns like they were nothing, giving him no actual help. Not to ignore the fact he was openly calling Harry a liar. Harry could barely keep himself from screaming in rage and ripping up the insulting letter. He had waited for this? A hiss of concern from Saffron had Harry Scrambling to stomp out the ring of fire Harry had apparently started in the grass around him. He seriously needed to learn how to control that. Harry took a few deep breaths to settle himself, and then promptly folded the letter and pocket it. He had a few more hours before his Aunt would return, and Harry decided to go for a walk. Saffron hissed in displeasure but slid her way over to him demanding he take her with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dudley gets hurt, blames harry who is physically hurt by Vernon, and left without food.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Child Abuse is once again in a chapter both bits are lined out again if you wish to skip. Summary at the end.

Harry had a very fitful night sleep. On several occasions he woke in a cold sweat, not remembering his dreams but knowing they weren’t the best. Saffron was constantly reassuring Harry, and by the morning neither had truly slept. Harry was mostly apprehensive about the representative from Hogwarts. He wanted to believe that Hagrid was in fact a great man, as Dumbledore proclaimed, but Harry doubted his and Dumbledore's meaning of the words were the same. He almost wished that he had never received a reply so that he could have gone with his own plan. Thankfully it seemed Harry was going to be forgotten in his cupboard, and he hoped he could try and sleep for a bit longer. Harry closed his eyes and turned over snuggling into Saffron. 

Harry had no idea how long he had managed to sleep, when he was awoken by the front door slamming “ Petunia! Where are you? Petunia!” Uncle Vernon was bellowing out, apparently finding Petunia soon after. Harry couldn’t hear what they were discussing but he had a terrible feeling about it.

____________________________________________________________________________

Harry had little time to respond, as his door was ripped open and he was dragged out of the cupboard by his shirt. He was roughly thrown in the hallway, with his back thrown against the wall. Uncle Vernon’s face was inches. “Well boy, do you want to know what I just learned? It seems that the woman in Number 2 had seen you bothering the mail carrier for weeks! With several of those days where we locked you up!” His meatly hands held tightly on Harry’s shoulders, no doubt bruising them. Spit rained down on Harry’s face.” Harry was slammed several more times up against the wall, his head and back aching. Vernon continued to spew nonsense at Harry, and only stopped when Petunia walked in. For a second Harry was surprised at the small amount of hope he felt that she would finally put a stop to this. His heart plummeted almost immediately after he noticed that she held the opened copy of his Hogwarts letter. 

“Vernon, I know why he was hounding the poor mal carrier. His letter is missing. He was trying to contact those FREAKS!!” Petunia screeched out. Vernon’s face formed a rather sinister smile as he turned his attention back to Harry.

“ Now you’ve done it, Freak. We’ve finally caught you!” Vernon’s smile got even crueler.“ We give you a home and food and raise you and you try to pay us back by scheming and plotting with other Freaks! This is the final straw boy!” Vernon threw Harry to the ground, and Harry tried to squirm away, but Petunia moved over to block Harry’s escape route. Vernon had finished removing his belt, and began whipping it at Harry, unconcerned with where he was hit. The metal buckle slammed into Harry multiple times, mostly to his back, but once or twice hitting his head, dizzying him. Vernon continued to barrage his body with the belt, calling Harry every name he could think of. Harry's eyes had soon given up withholding his tears and he turned to look up at Petunia, prepared to beg her to help, only for him to see the look of utter loathing on her face. 

Vernon had tired himself out from his onslaught, and Harry almost sighed in relief, but held it in knowing he would get worse with any sound. He felt blood dripping down his neck, and along his back as his open wounds scream at him. Harry could barely move but still he turned his head and saw Petunia giving Vernon a glass of water. Harry took advantage of them being distracted and began crawling towards the kitchen, planning to get to the back door. A hand gripped his ankle and dragged him backwards. Almost immediately after, a foot connected with his stomach, and then his leg, and again to his stomach. Harry could no longer withhold his noises, and his moans of pain echoed loudly in his ears. Fists replaced hands and Harry lost count of the amount of times he was hit and where. All that seemed to matter for Harry was the pain, as he poorly attempted to halt the attack, and crawl away. Unfortunately Harry was too injured to do anything. A shrill screech stopped Vernon as Petunia grabbed at her ankle. 

“The freak stabbed me! Vernon, he stabbed me!” Blood pooled out between her fingers, and Harry saw Saffron slip away to safety. Vernon ran over to Petunia, and Harry used the last of his strength to drag himself back to his cupboard. Harry slammed his door shut and huddled in his corner, focusing all his magic and energy to barricade the door. It seemed to be just in time as Vernon turned his attention to the door slamming his fists and demanding Harry open the door. Dizziness soon took over Harry, and his view faded to black as Vernon continued to slam on the door.

____________________________________________________________________________

“ I am here to collect Mr. Potter.” A familiar voice found its way to Harry who wasn’t sure if he was hearing things or not. It had been several days without food and Harry was far too weak from having his magic heal the worst of his injuries. He still had several bruises, and his leg was aching badly. 

He must have spaced out because he realized a conversation was actually happening and it wasn’t his imagination. He attempted to make a sound, but his throat was too sore and dry. 

“ Mr. Potter has missed a very important appointment, and It has come to me

to make sure he does not avoid another one.” It was Sev, Harry realized, and he once again tried to call out.

“ There is no Potter here.” Grumbled Vernon. Harry slid over the door, hoping he could bang against it or something. In the corner of his eye he saw Saffron move about. He motioned to her, trying to tell her to slide under the door to get Sev’s attention before he left. She nodded and squirmed under poking her head out.

“ I can assure you, that I have knowledge that there is a young man named Harry Potter at this address, and I can further assure you I hate for my time to be wasted.” Saffron got her entire body out of the room, and Harry prayed Sev, would notice. There was a small scuffling sound and then a heavy thump, before Harry’s door was opened, the light blinding him. “ Harry are you in there?” Sev’s hand reached in and Harry latched on to him, using his arm to drag himself out of his cupboard. Vernon was stunned in a pile near the door with Saffron climbing all over him. Harry practically attached himself to Severus who so just wrapped his arms around the small boy and held him close. Soon Harry released the man, and struggled to stand on his feet, his right leg barely kept from buckling. 

“ I have you Harry.” Sev stood by him helping him to stand. He used his free hand to wave his wand over Harry’s body. “ A concussion, multiple contusions and a recently healed broken leg. I think perhaps I am going to have to murder your Uncle.” Harry only nodded, which led to Severus holding his wand to Harry’s throat. A strong coldness took over his throat before fading away.

Harry swallowed a few times before attempting to use his voice. “ Thanks.” It was barely a croak but at least he had a voice. He hissed over to Saffron, who left Vernon’s body and climbed up Harry’s body to rest on his shoulder.

“It’s the very least i can do at the moment.” Sev paused, “ We are going to have to take you to see a Healer.” Harry froze, ready to refuse. He knew he needed help but he still didn’t want anyone to know what happened to him. “ Harry, you need someone to heal your body. Unfortunately I do not have the skills nor do I have the potions on my person to fix the damage. If I may suggest, we do have errands in Gringotts, and they have the capabilities to obtain a Healer. “

“ It won’t seem like a weakness to the goblins?” Harry asked, he needed to build a good relationship with the goblins and he couldn’t bear to have something like this just damage it right from the start.

“ The goblins are a prideful people, and however much you might not believe it, they would see you ignoring your pain as a weakness.” Sev replied, waiting for Harry to decide. Harry could do nothing but trust in Severus and so he nodded reluctantly. Sev almost smiled, and carefully looped his arm around Harry’s body before apparating directly out of the room and landing in an alley. He held his wand over Harry’s face, and Harry felt the magic wash over his face. He turned to look in a window and saw his face was slightly different. He looked quesioningly at Sev, who simply told him his face is too recognizable and he needed to have a disguise. Together they walked across the street and entered a building called “The Leaky Cauldron”. The first thing Harry noticed was the magic. It was everywhere; plates and glasses floated around the room, candles lit up much more than normal candles should have, a mop and bucket cleaned a spill over in the corner. Everywhere Harry looked something wonderful was happening. He turned his attention to the people, eh Witches and wizards he supposed, and found himself to be a bit disappointed. Magic didn’t flow off of them like it did from Severus, and other than their robes, Harry failed to see much difference between them and muggles. A man in a purple turban noticed Severus and Harry and headed towards them, his arm outstretched in greeting to Severus. Severus only stared the man down, until he lowered his arm. 

“ H-h-hello Sev-verus.” The man stammered, Harry noting immediately it wasn’t from nerves. He also felt like something was still off of the man. For Harry, his magic seemed almost repulsive, and Harry wanted to cut this as short as possible. “ I-i-i- see Yo-you have a-a--a ch-ch-charge with yo-you s-s-s-o i wil-il-ill not ho-o-ld yo-you up-pp.” (He was, and he did) Harry only shifted in place, as the man, Sev announced was Professor Quirrell, who would be teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes at Hogwarts this year. Harry soon zoned out from the conversation, only mildly concerned that if he could barely be able to stand Professor Quirrell now, how would he survive a full year in his classroom. His mind instead wandered to how his appointment with the goblins would go, and Harry began getting impatient. He was happy to see the mild annoyance flit over Snape’s face several times. Finally Severus interrupted Quirrell and rushed and Harry himself out to the back of the tavern. Snape held his wand out tapping a pattern into the brick wall, before the wall folded in on itself. Harry watched in awe as the most wonderful place he had ever been at literally opened up in front of him. Magic was everywhere, the Leaky Cauldron was next to nothing compared to Diagon Alley itself. Harry could not focus on anything. The buildings glowed, and out here magic did seep from the people, maybe because there were a lot more out here?

“ We need to move along Harry, “ Sev rodded at him to move, “ There is much we must accomplish today. But first take this.” Harry was handed a rather simple brass key. It seemed to grow warm in his grip and he found himself holding it tighter, realizing it was in fact his Gringotts key and planned to ask Sev why he had it. Together they headed towards a large white marbled building with pillars. Harry knew instantly this was Gringotts. He nodded politely to the two goblin guards at the entrance, earning twin grunts. 

They soon found themselves next in the queue for the goblins at the tellers. Sev stepped back to give Harry the ability to take command. 

“ And who might you be?” The teller growled down to Harry. 

Harry refused to be intimidated and rose himself up as much as his bad leg would allow. “ Good Day to you as well Master Goblin. I am Heir Potter and wish to have a meeting with the Potter Family Accountant if he or she is available.” A small staring contest took place with Harry refusing to step down. Finally the teller demanded his key and Harry happily obliged. 

“Follow me,” The goblin grunted, examining the key, and finding no fault with it. He then floated down from his seat, and proceeded to escort Harry and Sev down a long corridor. Severus remained a few paces behind Harry who struggled to maintain the pace of the goblin. Upon reaching their destination, the goblin knocked on the door, earning them a rather belligerent ‘Enter’. The goblin pushed the door open, for which Harry bowed and thanked, earning him another grunt as the goblin left the room closing the door behind them. Harry limped over to the chairs made available for him and Severus, bowing to the new goblin before sitting, Severus following soon after. 

The goblin merely raised an eyebrow in response to Harry. “ Ah Mr. Potter, we have been waiting quite awhile for you to set up a meeting with us.We have sent you several missives over the last year in preparedness for your claiming of your Heirship ”

“ I apologize Master Goblin, but there were too many situations out of my own control. Unfortunately I have also failed to receive any letters from the Wizarding World except my Hogwarts letter. I am here now if that can be taken into account.” Harry could feel the loathing emanating from Severus at the pun. 

“ Call me Griphook, it is what your father, and his father, and even his father called me, and it will do us just fine now.” Razor teeth gleamed as he looked at Harry. “ Now I was informed you are here to claim your Heirship to the Potter Family. You understand all that that entails?”

“ Yes Master Griphook, I am more than ready to claim what is my birthright and responsibility. “ Harry nodded, there was no doubt in his words. Harry had learned as much as he could without access to the Potter Family lands and vaults. He intended to gain access to them as soon as possible. “ I am prepared to have my blood tested to prove I am who I claim to be.”

“We shall see” Griphook, pulled out a steel dagger from his drawer, handing the hilt out to Harry, who promptly took hold of it, and held it to his left palm. With a nod from Griphook, Harry sliced his palm hissing at the pain. He took the blood from his palm and spread it on the blank parchment paper Griphook had provided. He then looked at Severus and asked him to heal the cut, and to vanish the blood from his hand and the dagger.

Griphook ignored this as he focused on the parchment, muttering in gobbledygook. As words appeared both eyebrows rose on the goblin’s face, and he paused before turning to Harry and Severus. “ Well Heir Potter, it seems you are who you claimed to be, and it appears so much more,” handing the parchment to Harry.

  
  


**Inheritances for one (1) Harry James Potter**

**By Blood:**

**Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House Potter (Father’s bloodline)**

**Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House Black (Father’s bloodline)**

**Heir to the Most Illustrious House Gryffindor (Mother’s Bloodline)**

**Heir to the Most Illustrious House Slytherin (Mother’s Bloodline)**

**Heir to the Most Illustrious and Ancient House Peverell (Undetermined)**

**By Conquest:**

**Heir to the Most Illustrious House Slytherin (Enemy Bloodline)**

**Heir to the Most Ancient House Gaunt (Enemy Bloodline)**

  
  


Harry balked at the titles he had, handing the paper off to Severus before turning to Griphook. “ If you don’t mind my asking, where do most of these titles come from?” Earning a nod from Griphook.

“I cannot speak for sure, and I am certain a look at the Potter Family Lineage will help you with the first one. Unfortunately your mother was assumed to be a muggleborn, and had not taken an inheritance test with us. We have her magical signature on file, and with a small fee, and your permission of course, we may attempt to test for her Family Lineage.”

“ Please do. Now do you have any idea as to where the Heirships I earned from conquest come from? And how can one of them be both by blood and by conquest?”

Griphook raised his hands in front of himself, folding them together. “ There is only one wizard that you may very well have ‘conquered’ so to speak.” His gaze firmly on Harry’s scar. “ As for the ‘by blood’ part? To put it simply you would be next in line for the heirship, because you are the closest living relative from a side branch, but by defeating the Lord of the main branch you have gained the Heirship.” Severus had finished reading the parchment and handed it back to Harry who proceeded to give it back to Griphook.

“ Now since you are in fact the Heir, or rather Heirs to multiple Houses of which Gringotts has always done business with, How may I be of service?” Griphook’s sharp teeth were back in the formation of a ‘smile’

Harry took a moment to organize his thoughts. Originally he planned to enter Gringotts, claim his title, and check out the vaults. Now however he had much to think about. “ For now let us concern ourselves with the Potter vaults. I plan to claim all the Heirships, but I don’t know what to do with the others at the moment. “

Griphook nodded and much of the paperwork that had appeared when he spoke before disappeared. “ Then let us only look here. Now as you have only just turned eleven, you do not have complete access to all the Family Vaults except with the permission of your Magical Guardian. As he is not here, I can assume you do not have his permission.” A scowl had formed on the goblin’s face. It seems it wasn’t just Harry and Severus who had problems with Dumbledore. “ The once prosperous Potter Family Vaults have stood stagnant for the last ten years, as your Magical Guardian has halted all investments and charity work. No money has been added or removed from any of the Potter Vaults since before your parents went into hiding, also it is proper to note their wills have remained unopened and sealed by you Magical Guardian, we can petition once again to have them unsealed, but unfortunately there is not much else we could do.”

He had paused in his explanation as the books and other Knick-knacks on his desk began to shake. Harry was barely keeping himself under control and It was only to Severus’ hand on his shoulder that he didn’t just explode. He finally calmed down enough, nodding to Severus in thanks and apologizing to Griphook, who only waved it off.

“ We do not need his permission to reinvest or open the charity works again, as you are the official Heir and by rights have a say in it, however he will be notified by it.” Earning another scowl from Griphook. “ Once he is notified he can once again halt the investments until an appointment is set up between you, your Magical Guardian and myself.” It truly was an insult to the goblins to have such rich and powerful Vaults under their guidance and to have their hands tied at expanding them. Griphook raised his eyebrow awaiting Harry’s response.

“Damn the man,” Harry cursed, earning him a soured look from Severus. “ Why must he meddle in my Family’s investments?” Harry continued to mutter under his breath before an idea popped up. “ Is it possible for all the updates my Magical Guardian would normally receive to go ‘ missing’?” Griphook’s scowl had turned into another one of his razor sharp smiles. “ I suppose for a fee? Perhaps reclaiming one of the many Goblin made artifacts I am sure the Potter Vaults have. I would of course like to check out said artifact first?” Harry asked.

Griphook merely continued to smile before summoning another goblin and whispering something to him. The goblin soon left, and Griphook turned back to Harry. “ Yes I believe all updates your Magical Guardian would normally receive, will now be placed within the Potter Family Vaults to which he is more than welcomed to visit and take out.” The goblin soon returned holding several metal items and a small leather bound book. “ These are the artifacts we are most interested in seeing returned to us. The book is the Potter Grimoire to which you are more than welcome to leave with, but at this moment will tell you of these artifacts.”

Harry laid his hand on the Grimoire and almost passed out from the power emanating out of it and into Harry. A sense of rightness and acceptance soon came through and Harry opened the Grimoire and as if by magic (it was) it opened to have an image of the first artifact and a description.

What Harry at first thought was a simple dagger was actually a ceremonial dagger forged in the year 1313 as a wedding gift for a Potter woman. She had apparently used the dagger to avenge the death of her father and mother by her husband. The second item in question was in fact a circlet forged in 1292 and was blessed by the Winter Elves, the Grimoire warned it would be considered a great betrayal to give this item away without the Winter Elves blessing. The third and final artifact was a simple necklace. A ruby and an emerald were embedded into it. The Grimoire stated that it was a recent artifact, given to Lily Potter by James Potter on the eve of their son’s birth. Harry refused to even let go of this necklace and soon put it on himself, earning a knowing nod from Griphook. Harry soon realized this was not actually an artifact they wanted but merely a gift for him as he would not normally have access to it since it was normally in the Potter Vaults but now he could claim it. A smile covered his face and he bowed deeply to Griphook.

“ I think the dagger would be more than happy to return to it’s home with the goblins. Unfortunately the circlet is not truly mine to give, and this necklace is not goblin made.” Griphook nodded and the other goblin took the dagger away.

“Well Heir Potter, you have claimed your titles, accessed your paperwork for your vaults and even made us a bargain. Is there anything else we at Gringotts may help you with?”

“I do need money to do some shopping for my school supplies, but I can do that with a teller, there is no reason to waste more of your time Master Griphook.” A grunt from Snape had Harry turning to him in question, earning him a glare of his own and a pointed look at his leg. “ Actually Master Griphook, if I may also request a Healer, I am quite hurt at the moment and need some assistance.” 

“Would you prefer a Wizard or a Goblin Healer?” 

“ Is there much of a difference?” Harry asked, perplexed by the question. Severus shifted to the side of him.

“ Not per say, only that goblins are completely honourbound to keep secret what you wish to be kept quiet.” Griphook explained staring intently at Harry.

“ Then a goblin Healer if you do not mind.” Griphook continued to stare at Harry, before nodding, giving Harry the impression that he had passed some sort of test. Griphook called forth another goblin who then led Harry and Severus out of Griphook’s office. Harry bowed and politely said goodbye to Griphook before following the other goblin out.

“ To be seen by a goblin Healer is a great sign of respect.” Severus learned to whisper in his ear. A twitch from the goblin ahead confirmed to them both he had heard. They followed him down a few more corridors and tunnels before they arrived at their next destination. 

“ A moment if you please.” The goblin told them before entering the room by himself. It was only a moment later before he escorted the pair into the room. “ Healer Ironclaw shall be with you momentarily. Harry bowed and thanked this goblin as well.

Harry went to sit in the patient's chair while Severus remained standing in the corner. It was only a few minutes before a side door opened and an old goblin entered using a metal cane to guide her steps forward.

“ I am Healer Ironclaw, and it seems I have a Wizard Heir in need of healing?” Her gruff manner clearly showed off her surprise.

“Yes, Master Healer Ironclaw,” Harry started rising up and bowing to her “ I have several minor injuries I need to be taken care of.”

“ Clothes off down to your pants then.” Her demeanor suddenly changed. Severus politely turned away as Harry began to strip. Once done he sat back down. Healer Iron claw waved her cane around muttering words in gobbledygook and staring intently at Harry. After a moment she stopped and Harry found himself breathing again, not noticing he stopped in the first place. She seemed to get more and more furious as she got further down the parchment that had appeared. “ WHO did this to you?” She practically demanded before turning on Severus. Harry rushed to his defense in fear of what this goblin could and would do.

“ It wasn’t him!” Harry cried out “ It was my bloody Aunt, Uncle and cousin. It can’t be that bad can it?”

____________________________________________________________________________

“Not bad you say?” Ironclaw was nearly growling. “ Severe malnutrition, multiple broken and magically healed bones, including several ribs and fingers, and as of this moment a severe concussion? Not bad? Sure, and I am actually your Minister of Magic!” Ironclaw hobbled over to Harry. “ Now on your back, I won’t lie, this is probably going to hurt as I have to reset several of your bones.” And with little preamble she began to chant, which son was drowned out by Harry’s screams as pain rushed in from his ribs and his leg. He was just thankful it wasn’t as bad as from when he earned the injuries. “ Now for the concussion.” She handed him a purple glittering potion that immediately caught the eye of Severus. Harry mentally took notes of its taste and texture to answer the questions Sev was sure to ask him later. Almost instantly Harry’s head cleared up, the headache and constant ringing gone in a flash. Harry thanked her but she only waved it away. She turned her gaze to Severus. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“ Now Mister Potions Master,” she started off on him, “ I am going to prescribe him several nutritional potions and you are going to make them for him.” If he wasn’t going to make them before, Severus was definitely going to now. “ Now why are you still in a place where you are abused.” She turned back to Harry.

“ My Magical Guardian is rather powerful in the Wizarding World, and has placed me with them, he believes them to be kind and loving, and will most likely fight to keep me there.”

“ You are an Heir are you not? Why not perform the Heir’s Protection Ritual?” Ironclaw asked incredulously.

Harry turned to look at Severus, having no idea what she was talking about. “ Aggie and I had researched that option. Unfortunately it is considered a dark ritual because of the use of blood, and the Witch or Wizard who performs the ritual on either themselves or another can be immediately sent to a fifteen year sentence to Azkaban. The ritual was used as a way to stop side branches of Families from harming and killing the Heir to try and gain a higher standing in the Family.”

“ A witch or wizard,” Harry muttered, before looking at a smirking Ironclaw. “I don’t suppose goblins are included in the law?” earning him a large smile from said goblin. “ Of course I am sure that a goblin would be most happy to do such a ritual for a price?” Ironclaw continued to smile. Harry nodded then. “ I believe we need to have Master Griphook’s assistance again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vernon finds out from a neighbor the Harry was been waiting for the mail carrier, even on days he was meant to be lock up. Petunia notices the letter is gone. Vernon hurts Harry while Petunia does nothing. Saffron bits Petunia, Harry hides away in his cupboard magically locking himself in. 
> 
> Harry visits a goblin Healer, She lists off several of his injuries.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry had quickly changed his mind about the goblins. He wanted no future with them. They were sadistic and ruthless. Ironclaw proceeded to poke and prod Harry with both her magic and staff. After what Harry had learned to be a preliminary check up from her, Harry started to fear for his life. Ironclaw predominately used her magic to continue her check up on Harry's body, and while it wasn't painful per say, with his already aching chest it was quite uncomfortable. Her magic seemed to especially focus on his chest, his hands and his head. He continued to bemoan his rough treatment, but was rapidly noticing the difference she was making as aches in his body he never really noticed because they were almost always constant, soon faded away. His hands that had a bit of a tremor to him, steadied and he found he no longer had a shortness of breath. His chest still ached a bit but Ironclaw assured him it was because the several ribs were reset from rather old wounds. She seemed to expend more of her magic on his head however, even with Harry telling her that his migraine was gone. She only grumbled about it not being right, earning a surprised laugh from Severus. Who almost withered under the shared glare of Ironclaw and Harry. It was almost another hour before Ironclaw gave in and admitted he was as well as one could be. She beckoned him to put on his clothes, and informed them Griphook was on his way.

Almost as if Griphook was waiting for Harry to be decent again, a knock on the door alerted Harry to his presence. Ironclaw let him in, and a must more ruthless haggling began. Finally it was Griphook claiming no less than eight goblin made artifacts returned, with Harry responding to only five. It was a silent standoff between the two until Harry jokingly asked for mercy for the poor orphaned boy, earning him a surprised laugh from Griphook. Ironclaw seemed to take offense to his laughter, and smacked him over the back of the head, yelling at the goblin in gobbledygook. Harry could have sworn he heard Griphook utter a ' sorry mother'. Harry went to apologize to Griphook for getting him in trouble when he saw Ironclaw turn her ire at him. And Harry found himself apologizing instead for his 'gallows humour'. Almost immediately they agreed at six artifacts, both turning to Ironclaw, who was muttering away, whatever she had said, had Griphook's pointed ears turning red. Ironclaw escorted Harry to another room, informing him that the ritual must take place at High Noon, and in a Ritual Room. specifically made for Blood Rites. Harry was a bit exhausted after everything, and being told he had to wait another two hours for High Noon was nearly his undoing. He felt they had been in the depth of Gringotts all day when it had barely been two hours. Ironclaw nodded in understanding, even for goblins the tunnels were time consuming. She summoned another goblin, ordering food and drinks to be brought into the room, and soon after Harry was eating and drinking with gusto, while Severus only had a cup of tea. Harry noticed some sadness coming off of Sev, and realizing it was because Severus had taken them directly to Gringotts, and not somewhere to grab the obviously starving boy food, quickly consoled the man, earning him a feeling of bewilderment which was soon closed off. Harry ate until he was full, and relaxed enough for him to try and get in a nap, resting his head on Severus’ lap, who awkwardly petted his head. 

He was rather abruptly awoken far too soon from his nap, and escorted into the Ritual Room. Unfortunately, Severus was not allowed into the room and Harry’s anxiety began to kick in, he tried to silence it as he was asked to dress himself in a pure white robe and told to stand in the center of the ritual circle. Candles and runes decorated the floor, with seven goblins in different colored garments, standing at specific points around Harry. They began to chant in unison in gobbledygook, and Harry decided then and there to learn the language of the goblins. Their voices almost an unearthly tone echoed around the room filling the space and Harry’s head. Soon he was beckoned to do his part, being to cut his palm again and allow the blood to flow out onto the assorted runes grooved into the stone floor beneath him. He soon began to feel dizzy as his blood continued to be absorbed by the runes. He had been told it was not uncommon for a Heir to pass out from the ritual and it would not negatively affect the ritual if he were to.

Harry, however, refused to pass out. He wanted to witness everything to the end and stubbornly propped himself up, watching as the magic all around him moved towards himself. It enveloped Harry with a pleasant warmth, but all too soon it began to heat up, Harry becoming more and more uncomfortable from the heat and pressure. Almost as soon as it became too much to bear, it cascaded off Harry and flowed into the blood filled ruins glowing a bright gold. The chanting stopped and the ruins glowed slightly for another moment or two before fading. Harry watched as all the goblins notably relaxed, and the Head Goblin walked towards Harry, only for him to stop suddenly with a look of horror on his face. Harry meant to ask what was wrong but doubled over in pure agony as his head felt like it was being split open. He raised his hands to cradle his head when the blood from his forehead blinded him. He only had a moment to hear the goblins begin a new chant before the pain through him into unconsciousness.

The first thing Harry noticed as he slowly rose to consciousness was that his head was killing him. Groaning, Harry attempted to sit up only to have a hand push him gently back down, and then a bottle was thrust to his mouth. Barely waiting a second he was forced to swallow the warm syrupy potion, blanching from it’s foul taste. Almost immediately another was set to replace it, and Harry let his annoyance be known by grunting and trying to pull away.

“Harry, stop. You must drink three of these. The ritual claimed too much blood from you to begin with, not to mention how much blood you lost immediately after.” Severus whispered, handing Harry the third bottle, with Harry’s hand shaking. “It seems you are making a habit of exacerbating me. If this attitude persists even into Hogwarts, I am afraid I shall have no other option than to inform Aggie of this misbehavior.” Harry laughter soon turned to a coughing fit, with Severus smiling. 

“Laughter is certainly not the standard medicine in my halls.” Ironclaw walked in, with a few other goblins. “ I am glad you are not being a troublesome patient and are taking your potions unlike some people. “ She side eyed the elder female goblin next to her. Said goblin ignored the pointed look and instead turned to Harry and Severus.

“ Young Heir Potter-Peverell-Black-Gaunt-Slytherin-Gryffindor, we wish to speak with you about the incident that took place during your ritual.” She began. “What can you tell us in your own words?”

“Please just call me Harry, or Heir Potter.” Harry tacked on noticing the frown from Ironclaw. “The ritual seemed to go as Ironclaw had told me it would, however I do think that maybe I messed up somehow and too much blood was put into the runes? The magic was almost too much for me to handle at the end.”

“ You are not to blame Heir Potter.” The goblin was quick to asway Harry. “ True there was a bit more power in the ritual, which is to be expected when we deal with one as powerful as you.” She put her hand up. “ No, do not deny it. Magic herself seems to have blessed you. Goblins are like many other magical beings in the sense we can feel the strength of Magic from another being, and it is truly impressive what comes off of you at the mere age of eleven.” Ironclaw ‘politely’ coughed into her hand and muttered what seemed to be ‘hurry up woman’. Earning her a glare and a half. “ Sorry. But my fellow goblin is right. We were meant to discuss the event and not your capabilities. As a recap, the ritual itself succeeded, and besides the extra power, it went perfectly. The after events however are the concern for us. We have spoken with several Curse Breakers and a few other Ritualists. Do not fret Heir Potter, we left out your name, and vows of secrecy were made as well. The consensus that was made was that you had harmful magics within you, more specifically your scar, from what Magic considered to be ‘family’ for you. Considering it is believed to be made by a curse by Voldemort” -Severus flinched and rubbed at his arm-” and we now know from your inheritance, which I hope you not mind Griphook informed me, we can infer that Magic supports your claim by blood. “

“What exactly does that entail?” Severus interrupted. 

“ We believe that the Heir Protection Ritual found there to be malignant Magic within Heir Potter’s scar. With that Magic most likely being the remnants from Voldemort, several of our Ritualists lean towards the belief that Heir Potter is protected from any and all attacks on his person by Voldemort until he is of age at seventeen.” She turned directly to Severus at this point. “ With claims of the Dark Lord not being truly dead, and further rumours that he will return, we can only speculate that Heir Potter will be protected from harm by the Dark Lord.”

Harry’s head was spinning. He had read about Voldemort, and his Death Eaters. After Aggie told him about how his parents were killed, Harry had made it a mission to know all he could about the monster. There was not much, except his actions during the war. He had come to terms that ‘Lord Voldemort’ was a pseudonym. With the knowledge that Harry had earned the Heirship by conquests, he now had leads to find out who ‘Voldy’ really was. But now he has learned that the monster might still be alive? That he will mostly come back to get Harry again? Harry’s chest started to tighten, his view shrinking down, and his hands began to shake. Panic had settled into Harry’s already battered mind and Harry could not escape. He found himself trapped in his own mind with darkness settling in. 

“Harry, we need you to come back now. I understand too much has found itself on your plate, but you have help.” A voice echoed in his mind, and Harry tried to reach out to it. “ Speak to me. What are you seeing?”

“It’s dark. I can’t see anything.”

“ This is your mind, Harry. We are well aware that as much as I claim you are an airheaded buffoon, it is not the truth. What can you see?” Harry realized he was right, it was his mind and he should be able to control it. It was just, at this point he didn’t know here to begin. Then he remembered his Wisps, and soon hundreds if not thousands of little flames lit up Harry’s mind. It was enough for Severus to find Harry, and drag him out. Harry came out of his mind rather harshly though, his body still in the throes of a panic attack. Harry almost fell back into his head, but was handed a potion which he swallowed promptly, recognizing the bitterness of a calming drought. The usual numbness overtook Harry, and while he was able to focus better, it was not the cure all he needed at the moment. Harry turned to face the goblins, planning to apologize, but found them to be gone. He dumbly looked back to Severus.

“It seems that we were in the presence of an important goblin. With your rapid deceleration in cognitively, and the rapid release of your magic, it seems an armed guard was stationed outside the entrance, and they promptly entered the room to see the perceived threat, and came to the conclusion it was best to remove Ironclaw and the other goblin.” Severus informed Harry, who had barely any energy left to nod. 

“Do not fret about it.” Ironclaw stated as she made her entrance. “ Sapphireclaw did not take it as a threat, or an attack. Only as a young boy who was put through way too much in too short of a period. I have come to check your health and to also offer her apologies on her part.”

“ I shall speak for Harry, with the knowledge that he would not hold anything against her, or the goblins themselves. I feel though, that we should take our leave. Perhaps when Harry is more himself we will set up another appointment.”

“Sapphireclaw will meet with you at any time this week. You need not set up an appointment. My child, Griphook, has also let it be known that there is much he wished to speak with Harry, and as there is much more Harry will need to know pertaining to his Heirships and the Family Vaults.”

“ Who, if I may be so bold as to ask, is Sapphireclaw exactly?” Severus asked, curious as to who the goblins would guard.

“Sapphireclaw is a pain. That’s who she is. ” A muted laugh came from Harry, who was only partially listening to the conversation. “ On a more professional Sapphireclaw has the distinct honour to be the Branch Manager of the English Gringotts Division.” Severus’ eyebrows rose up at this. For goblins, that meant she was basically a Queen. Her word is law. “ However, the most important title she can claim is that of my bondmate.” Ironclaw turned her attention to Harry. “ I understand you are unwell Harry, and you will probably not remember this conversation, but the Potion’s Master will do well to tell you this. You may not remember what happened after the ritual, but know this, three of mine and Sapphireclaw’s children were Ritualists in that room with you. Whatever curse that Dark Lord had placed in your head attacked them. And although you were clearly unconscious, they all claim your magic reached out, not the Heir Protection magic, reached out and saved them. So on behalf of my bondmate and my children, thank you.” She waited a moment, and Harry found himself nodding. She smiled at him showing where Griphook got his from and left the room. Harry barely remembered what happened next. The calming doubt was a high dose and Harry soon floated into a more relaxed mental state as Severus covered him in a cloak and carried him out of Gringotts, hidden under privacy spells. He rented rooms in the Leaky Cauldron, as he refused to bring Harry back to Number 4. It took almost three days for Harry to recover. During that time Severus mother-henned Harry so much that he took to clucking at him whenever he went too far. It seemed to Harry a bit unfair when Severus tattled on him to Aggie through Harry’s own journal, but he was more than happy when she actually came to their rooms to visit. Harry realized all too late that she was much much worse than Severus could ever be, and was barely allowed to use the restroom without Aggie fretting. Another positive of Aggie visiting was that Saffron had somehow found her way to Aggie, and hitched a ride with her, and she too refused to leave Harry alone, having no issues following him into the bathroom. When he asked her how she got to Aggie, Saffron hissed at him, telling him she does everything he does, just better. 

Under their watchful eyes, Harry’s recovery went well and he found himself well enough to finish his meeting with Griphook. Griphook had taken it upon himself to delve into the paperwork and logistics of the Vaults and investment portfolios from all of Harry’s Heirships. He had found several to be lacking as they had not had any person claim them in a long time. Only the Black’s and Potter’s had any recent activity, ‘recent’ being a relative term in comparison to the others. Harry was quite happy to let Griphook do as he saw best with the investments, the Vaults would not be touched until Harry reached maturity, and as such Griphook had only in inventory for Harry to look at. That suited Harry just fine, because he had no idea where to even begin with them. Griphook had denied Harry’s idea to transfer all of the inventory to one Vault, explaining that a Family’s Vault is just as important to the history of that Family, and even where one Lord holds the titles of several Family’s it is the proper thing to keep them separate. Harry had quite readily agreed. Before leaving, Griphook had given Harry all the information he could, a promise of great returns, and the other Family Grimoires for Harry to go through at his leisure.

Harry was then escorted to what Harry would describe as a throne room, however Sapphireclaw claimed it was just an ‘Office’. Once there Harry had attempted to apologize for the incident involving his magi and the Ritualists, only to find himself being berated by Ironclaw, and finding himself almost forced to accept the gratitude of the Ritualists themselves and Sapphireclaw. One Ritualist’s mother also took it upon herself to thank Harry with a massive bear hug, and opened the floodgates for the other family members to thank him. One goblin even claimed she would help Harry find a mate, as he had saved hers. Thoroughly embarrassed by this, Harry politely made his escape as soon as possible with a smirking Severus, and a laughing Saffron on his tail.

Severus had extended their stay at the Cauldron, utterly refusing to let Harry go back to Number 4. Harry knew there were other reasons then the simple one that Severus claimed it to be.

“ Why would we leave Diagon Alley without you completing all your tasks? We are here already and it is the wisest choice to remain here until we are finished” Severus claimed with a note of finality that Harry couldn't argue against. However, Severus also refused to let Harry explore the Alley until he was 100 percent. Finally, after nearly a week, Severus had accepted Harry’s pleas and was allowing him to go out, with the stipulations Saffron was to go with him, and he returned to the rooms for both lunch and dinner. Harry nearly jumped with joy and hugged Severus so hard he heard bones crack.

Harry spent much of the first few hours of freedom exploring all he could. He found himself lost in the Magic of the place and on several occasions Saffron warned him right before he was going to walk into a wall or a person. Severus had warned him to keep quiet on his Parseltongue abilities, and so he made sure to avoid speaking with her if he could help it. Harry’s favorite place he had discovered was a pastry shop that took pastries to a level far above those in the muggle world. It was called  _ Pastry Presentry Futuretry _ , and Harry enjoyed that there was a free tea reading with every purchase of a cup of tea. Harry had taken a box of pastries from there when he returned to the rooms for lunch earning him more mother henning for Severus for having ‘desserts for lunch’. Aggie had happily kept quiet as she ate an éclair. As the last bite was taken, Harry rushed out to continue his expedition. He found himself in a second hand book store, and after talking with the owner, learned that he was the one Aggie most often used to fill the library. He bothered Harry to know she funded those books herself, and convinced the owner to take an investment so to speak, and donate a bunch of books to Aggie the next time she placed an order. He also found himself adopting several books for himself, including a botany book that had attached itself to Harry, a potions books that actually released bubbles when Harry opened it, and another one that the owner claimed was written in an ancient and long lost runes system, that Harry knew in fact to be Parseltongue. It had hissed in contentment, just like Saffron did, when Harry had lifted it and he found there was no way he could leave it there. 

He safely put his newfound treasures in his new bag he had found in another shop. The bag had an Extension Charm put into it, and meant that Harry could fit far too many things in it without it getting bigger or heavier. From the same shop he also purchased a six compartment trunk. Harry had instantly fallen in love with it when he learned that one compartment was a library of sorts and could hold up to 500 books. The other compartments were important too, one perfect for potion supplies and ingredients, another with stasis charms for food, a fourth for clothing and accessories, with the last two being empty. Harry had asked if it would be safe for an animal to rest in one of them, The owner had only smiled and added a few more charms to one of the empty compartments including a warming charm Harry specifically asked for. She had also added a rune on it that would self shrink and expand it for a few extra galleons. 

Harry’s final stop was to be Madam Malkins. He had decided that he would need a full wardrobe, both robes and muggle, but doubted that he would get any muggle stuff there, after he took the time to look in from the windows. He decided to just get robes today, and convince Sev to take him to a muggle store for his other needs. He entered the store to the sound of birds chirping. Harry noticed that each store used a unique sound to signal that someone had entered a store, and he found this one to be his favorite.

“ I’ll just be a moment sweetie. Just working on the finishing touches now.” A woman, Harry figured to be Madam Malkins herself, welcomed him into the shop. Harry just smiled and decided to walk around and explore. Fabric of assorted colours and patterns hung around everywhere. He glided his hand on them, feeling each one, and noting which he preferred. There were far too many colours and Harry had soon realized that Wizards and Witches were rather vibrant colours. He knew that he would be purchasing robes in the colours of the Houses he held Heirships in, and that Hogwarts robes were black, so he felt safe in asking for muted colours for his everyday wear.

So entranced by the fabrics, Harry almost walked into someone, with only Saffron’s hissing stopping him. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Harry exclaimed, bowing his head slightly before looking back up. He first noticed the nearly white blonde hair slicked back, followed by the slight frown on the other boy’s face. The other boy must have decided not to make a big deal of it because he only turned towards Harry, and shrugged off his apology.

“ It was bound to happen, what with this store being a literal jungle.” The blonde commented a bit rudely. “ How a store can look like this and still remain in business one could never know.” Harry mentally grimaced at the attitude, but otherwise tried to ignore it. “ My father wanted to take me to  _ Twilfitt and Tatting’s _ but unfortunately, they claim school robes are beneath them, and even with my father offering a rather large bonus, they refused.” The tone of the boy seemed to get Harry to agree that was a major error on their part. Harry found himself nodding if only to see where this would go. This was his first real interaction with a Wizard his age and Harry couldn’t help but hold out a little bit of hope that this boy was just having a bad day, and could be a friend. “ oh well the Hogwarts robes are ghastly as it is, and only after the sorting that they become anything worth talking about. I’m assuming you are here for your school robes as well?”

“ Yes, I know it’s kind of la-” Harry was cut off before he could get any further.

“ Which House do you want? My entire Family has been in Slytherin for as long as Hogwarts has been open. It is the best House after all. Only the best are allowed to join. So no muggleborns or Blood Traitors.” The boys face showing how he really felt. “I guess the other houses aren’t so bad. Oh who am I kidding yes they are. The idiots are all collected by the Gryffindor House, the weirdos go to Ravenclaw, and the leftovers to Hufflepuff. If I were a Puff I’d just drag myself out of the school head hung in shame.” He laughed as if he had told an actual joke, and not insulted roughly seventy-five percent of the student population. “ Oh wait, where are my manners. I haven’t introduced myself.” He raised his right hand, close fisted over his heart, and dipped his head a bit. A slight insult, as the dip meant he thought himself more important than to Harry. “Draco Malfoy.” He raised his eyebrow slightly, clearly a sign he expected Harry to know who he was. It just so happened that Harry did. He had studied the Lineage of most of the Families in Britain, so that he could have the knowledge of what Heirs would be at Hogwarts, especially in his year. He knew of the Malfoys all right. Abraxas, and Lucius Malfoy were reportedly funding Voldy’s War. Abraxas died suddenly before the war ended and Lucius had claimed to be under a spell to get out of trouble, doubtless hands were also greased with the massive wealth of the Family. Narcissa and by default Draco were also Black descendants, not to mention Severus had told Harry that Draco was his Godson, and Harry had hoped to gain a relationship with them. Now it did not seem like an option.

“ Well met, Heir Malfoy.” Harry repeated the hand raise and the bow to the same degree, earning him a look of bemusement, as Heir Malfoy seemed to pick up the insult as Harry had only moments ago. 

“ Well you seem to know what you are talking about, however you should bow a bit more. We Malfoys are a highly influential Family, and it is only right to show us the respect we deserve.” Harry was truly stunned! He had not expected such ignorance from another Heir. It was common knowledge that Hogwarts would be used by Heirs to help make friendships and alliances, and yet Heir Malfoy was putting his foot in his mouth. Harry decided then and there to see how deep of a hole the other boy would dig himself into. “ I suppose you tried your best. Is it safe to assume your parents are Wizards? I don’t recognize you which means we don’t run in the same circles.” Did everything have to be an insult? (yes) 

“ Yes, my parents were Wizards, unfortunately they died when I was younger and I was sent to live with my mother’s family, who are muggles. '' Harry managed to withhold his own disdain at that, but nearly laughed at the look of disgust on the other Heir’s face. He even took a step back!

“ Well I can understand your lack of respect then. Raised by muggles, a shame really. You’re practically a barbarian!” Heir Malfoy shuddered. “ Although,” He looked Harry up and down, “ I suppose I could be charitable, and help teach you the proper way to respect your betters.”

Harry found he had quite enough of that, and was just about to tell Heir Malfoy where to stick his “charity” when Madam Malkin appeared. Heir Malfoy took the offer from her to go next, and Harry decided to just leave. He turned around however to speak to Heir Malfoy one more time. “ Heir Malfoy,” Harry started. He raised his left hand over his heart, palm open and made eye contact with the other Heir. Madam Malkin noticed the insult just before the Heir himself and took a step back. “ Please do not be insulted when I ignore your ‘charity’ as you put it. It seems that it is I who must teach you ‘ the proper way to respect your betters'.” He raised his right hand to show off his Heirship glowed brightly with the power Harry poured into it. “ If I may say one more thing. Each House has something to give to Hogwarts and its students. You shouldn’t disregard most of the students because they do not fit in with your obviously small view of the world.” He lowered both his hands, dipped his head at Madam Malkin and left the shop, refusing to look back at Heir Malfoy. An iron weight settled in his stomach as the adrenaline wore off. He couldn’t believe he had just done that! He had hoped to make friends with Severus’ Godson, and now he almost certainly burned down that bridge.

“Very nicely done.” A voice called him out of his head. He turned to see two boys, his age standing nearby: the one to the left a lanky, dirty blonde boy, and the other on the right, a tall dark signed boy, who Harry noticed was the one to speak.

“Excuse me?” Harry asked, not altogether understanding what he meant.

“ You handled Draco rather well back there.” He smirked. “ Draco thinks too highly of himself and too lowly of others, so it is a nice sight to see him knocked down a few pegs. Oh but where are my manors! Here I am calling out Draco on his lack of, and I almost blunder as much as he.” He raised his right hand over his chest close fisted and bowed, lower than Heir Malfoy, but not too low. “Zabini, Blaise Zabini to be precise. And this gentleman on the side of me is Heir Theodore Nott Jr.” The other boy followed suit, scowling a bit at Zabini. “ Don’t mind him, “ Zabini continued, “ He doesn’t speak unless he really has too.” Which earned him another glare, and Harry noted an aborted hit. He recognized both Family names. Zabini was the name of the Magical Royal Family in the Italian Magical Kingdom, while Nott was another Pureblood Family centered in Britain. Neither Families had aided Voldy, and Harry found he rather liked these two. He noted that Heir Nott was still glaring daggers at Zabini, who was just smirking in response. Harry decided that that just wouldn’t do. He got both of their attention and followed with his own bow, at the same level they had previously made. 

“ Well met, I am Heir Potter-Black.” No reason to tell them all his titles, however he would be certain both boys would pick up the further slight at Heir Malfoy, he was making. By the smirk on both their faces he gathered they had. “ I am surprised to see a Zabini so far north. I know you are not the Heir to the Zabini crown, however seeing as you are not an eighty year old woman, so perhaps your bow should have been a smidge lower?” Harry’s smile was blinding as he heard Heir Nott start to laugh. He was mildly concerned he had insulted another important possible friend, when Zabini soon joined in.

“I think we shall get along quite well don’t you think Theo?” Zabini wrapped his arm around the other boy’s shoulder who shrugged him off and pushed him away. “ Anyways, Heir Potter, where were you off to?”

Harry paused at that because he honestly hadn’t thought about that, he had mostly just planned to leave the robes shop. He didn’t want to return The Cauldron since he still had a few more hours before his dinner curfew. Food made him think of the pastry shop, and he decided to go there. “ I visited a pastry shop earlier and I was planning to go back. Perhaps you would like to join me?” Harry asked doubting they would agree but hoping otherwise. The two boys shared a look before Heir Nott nodded to Zabini.

“ We agree. We very much would like to join you. Theo cannot resist a lemon tart.” Zabini stated.

“ I hate lemons and you know that,” Heir Nott grumbled out, slapping Zabini’s chest, who only laughed. Zabini looped his arms over both Heir Nott’s and Harry’s shoulders and beckoned Harry to lead the way. They found a seat by the window and ordered far too much pastries. The waiter had recognized Harry from earlier and pointed out that he must have a rather large sweet tooth to already be back, earning a laugh for the other boys. Harry soon found himself enjoying the dynamic between the two boys who were clearly best friends, and found it rather easy to be included with them. Zabini was rather interested in the muggles of England, while comparing it to the muggles in Italy. Heir Nott on the other hand was clearly interested in all the random facts that Harry knew. Before Harry knew it time flew by, and he was almost certainly going to be late. He apologized to the other boys and excused himself, with Zabini waving it off and ‘hoping to see him on the train’ with Heir Nott. Harry had a secret weapon and ordered a lemon square, pretending at first to give it to Heir Nott, earning himself a scowl, before wrapping it in a napkin. He handed the waiter his tip, and rushed out and back to the Leaky Cauldron. Shying away from Severus’ glare at missing the start of dinner. Much of that dinner was Severus glaring down at Harry, with Aggie feeding pieces of meat to Saffron. Harry helped clean up, before he handed Severus the lemon square before squirming his way into his bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to Bratty Draco, Suave Blaise, and Silent Theo. The next chapter might not on Monday like I've been trying to do. My brother is getting redeployed and my family is throwing him a rather big going away party for him this weekend.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry had to admit, he was having the best week of his life. After Severus had forgiven him for missing curfew, Harry had been happily released into Diagon Alley. He explored as much as he could before coming to Knockturn Alley, remembering Severus didn’t want him to go down there by himself. Harry decided to be responsible, mostly he just didn’t want to have to deal with another upset Sev, so he went and hunted Sev down, harassing the poor man until he agreed to take Harry into Knockturn. Harry was thrilled. He had dragged Severus into a small book shop where he had uncovered three books he had wanted, including his greatest prize, a _ Hogwarts: A History, The Fifth Edition. _ He hadn’t even paid that much for it! ( He did, way too much, Severus was silently laughing at him). Severus had in turn, dragged Harry into an apothecary, and proceeded to spend over an hour there purchasing several ingredients and a new quartz cauldron. Harry left the place with a handful of seeds, telling Sev that he would find a place to grow them later and that they would produce the best plants ever. 

After his trip to Knockturn, Harry had decided to explore the other side branches of Diagon Alley. Firstly, he went into Horizont Alley, a mostly residential area that had a few shops that could be the wizarding version of a convenience store. Vertic Alley was a small side street that was all restaurants and food stalls. It had quickly become the young boy’s favorite and he spent a lot of time and money eating, bringing back several treats to both Severus and Aggie, who was more often than not to visit Harry and Sev at the Cauldron. Station Alley was a weird one as it was farmland, and after getting over the sudden change in his surroundings, Harry had a lot of fun just walking through the fields of wheat. He saw nearly no one working the fields, but every so often thought he saw a small humanoid being out of the corner of his eye. But every time he turned to look here was a small blur and nothing was there. The final Alley Harry saw ( they weren’t alleys, and Harry was rather perplexed by their names) was Symmetric Alley, and it was a group of shops similar to Diagon Alley. Harry enjoyed his time exploring these shops finding many things of interest, unfortunately he had left his money with Severus, and could only look around. Over the next two days, Harry had visited all of them multiple times and had spent quite a bit of his money. Severus refused to let Harry take out more money, telling him it was a teaching moment to not spend a hundred of years worth of Family Fortune in less than a week.

Harry had also spent more time with both Heir Nott and Zabini, both together and separately. Heir Nott, Harry had learned, was rather smart and heavily into reading which had suited him just fine. Together they delved into several of Harry’s latest treasures, including the _ Fifth Edition  _ Harry had bought earlier. It had earned a whistle of appreciation from the normally silent boy and they spent almost an entire day reading it together and arguing about differences between it and the current edition

“ It still doesn't mention the Chamber of Secrets Theo,” Harry and Theo had officially trade honours of calling each other by their first names roughly six and a half books ago, with Harry finding it difficult to argue with someone when he had to politely call them by a title. "We know that the current Headmaster’s office and living spaces were once Godric Gryffindor’s Tower, the staff area behind the Great Hall were once Helga Hufflepuff’s living space, and that the Owlery was once Rowena Ravenclaw’s. But nothing is stated about Salazar’s except a rather stupid name!”

“I know Harry. We have been searching for it already forever,” Theo agreed. “ I just do not understand why it is such a big deal.”

“ It’s important because this book is several hundreds of years old! And it is already showing signs of bias against Salazar and Slytherin house all together!” Harry was seriously considering throwing the book out the window, and as if the book knew his intent, the _ Fifth Edition _ slid closer to Theo on the table.

“ Harry, while I am entirely in support of Slytherin House being treated better,” Theo’s older cousin was a sixth year, and had told him horror stories of how the other three Houses, especially Gryffindor House, treated the House of Snakes. “ What is the point of finding the Chamber of Secrets.” The disgust on his face showing how much he too hated the name.

“ It’s not really about the Chamber itself, but more along the lines of the books and artifacts that must be hidden within it, Theo.” Theo, luckily understood immediately without Harry having to explain more. Sure finding the now infamous Chamber would be amazing, but it’s what would be found within it that really mattered. Theo, however to no fault of his own, was unaware of the fact Harry intended to fix the Slytherin Family Reputation and Pride. Sure the House’s history was respected and it was still a prominent part of Hogwarts, but the name was infamous and not positively viewed. If Harry were to openly accept the title of Lord Slytherin, he wanted it to be a strength for him and his Family, not a liability.

“ Does this mean you want to hunt down the Chamber when we get to Hogwarts? Because as far as I know every Slytherin worth their magic has attempted to find the founder’s Chamber with no success.” Theo had taken to one of Harry’s habits and was currently petting the  _ Fifth Edition’ _ s bindings.

“ Not at first, I think we need to research more, so I think we can hold out on finding it until at least fourth year.” Harry wrote it down in his “scheming journal” as Zabini took to calling it. Harry preferred to have a plan, and if some of those plans included breaking rules? So what. “ It’s not like it is going to go anywhere right? And as you said everyone looks for it and never finds it, so what are the odds someone else finds it, not to mention geting into it.” Harry paused, “ We should definitely research possible ways it would be locked as well, kill two birds with one stone. “ Theo looked confused at that and Harry found himself explaining yet another muggle idiom to the wizard.

Zabini, on the other hand, was not a bookworm in any way. He wouldn't say no to spending time looking through the books Harry’s bought with Harry and Theo, but Harry felt like it was more to humour the two of them. It’s not to say Harry found Zabini to be an idiot, in fact Harry secretly thought him smarter than anyone Harry met. It was just that the dark skinned boy did not get his information from books. When it was just Harry and Zabini, they tended to find them exploring, with Harry taking Zabini by the hand to all his favorite finds, and Zabini doing likewise. It was on these adventures Harry discovered something about Zabini, the boy could talk. Zabini would somehow, someway find someone to talk to no matter where they go, be it a café, or the book store, even the farmlands. This wasn’t altogether special, but what was special is how much people talked back to him. Harry could only look on in wonder as a grumpy old man who regularly grunted and growled at people as they passed by him was openly explaining to Zabini about the best way to dig up truffles for potions in the woods. Zabini just smiled at the man, making several points of his own that the old man would surprisingly understand and even add on to. Where Zabini had learned about truffle seeking pigs, Harry didn’t know, but it probably came from someone else personally. So no, Zabini was not book smart, but by Merlin did Harry find him intelligent.

“Harrold my friend,” Zabini, or Blaise as he graciously gave Harry the honour of calling him, had also taken it upon himself to call Harry anything but Harry. “ Why is it you do not have a wand yet? You have been staying in the Cauldron for nearly three weeks now, and you still have not visited  _ Olivander’s _ .”

“ Professor Snape claims he wants to be there, and he has been rather busy.” It had been difficult for Harry to hide he was staying under the supervision of Severus at the  _ Leaky Cauldron  _ but both Sev and Harry had agreed it would be best to pretend they had no knowledge of each other before Sev picked Harry up to take him to Diagon Alley. “ He claims he wished to be there so that I would not accidentally blow up myself and Olivander. He seems to believe I am a ‘Dunderhead’ as he put it with a ‘proclivity to creating mischief.” His impersonations of Sev had Blaise rolling on the floor in laughter. “ He will probably chaperone me tomorrow, since I will be returning to my Aunt and Uncle’s home shortly.” Both Blaise and Theo had learned who had taken Harry in as a baby, either knowing of the abuse, and Harry wished to keep it that way as long as possible. 

Harry was proven correct, as that very next day just after lunch Severus agreed to help him get his wand. “ It seems rather lackluster that Olivander only uses three wand cores. What about other magical creature parts? I know of a wandmaker in Algeria that claims to use powdered ashwinder fangs as a core. Wouldn’t that be a cool wand? Another one is Southern Asia uses kappa claws. Why does he limit himself to only three cores? It limits everyone’s choices?” Harry had started to ramble.

“ Well Mr. Potter, perhaps it is like any other branch of Magic, and Olivander has an affinity for those particular materials. Wizards and witches are not forced to buy their wands from him, and if a witch or wizard cannot connect with one of his, Olivander is more than happy to send them on to another.” Sev admonished Harry. “ There is always more to a situation than there appears.” Harry only nodded, properly chastised. He should have known better than to assume Olivander just did it because he was lazy or didn’t want to. They entered the store, and Harry found himself surrounded by boxes upon boxes upon boxes. It was a very haphazard place, and Harry was not sure where to begin. Thankfully an old wizard, who could only be Olivander slipped into view.

“Ah, Heir Potter, I had wondered when you would grace my store with your presence.” Olivander started. “ I have seen you pass by a multitude of times this past week, and I am most glad you have finally come in. And Master Snape, always a pleasure, is your wand doing you well?”

“ As well as it always has .” Severus confirmed. “ But as you might have ascertained. We are here not for me, but for young Mr. Potter.”

“ Yes, yes quite right. Alright Heir Potter, let’s try this one mahogany just like your father’s with a core of unicorn hair like your mother’s a mix of them as you are?” Before the wand had even touched Harry’s hand it fell to the floor. “ No definitely not, but perhaps the other way around? Willow with a dragonheart string? And let’s try 14 inches.” This one actually allowed Harry to pick it up, but flew out of his hand before Harry could give it a flick. Thus began a long trial of error. Nearly thirty wands passed over to Harry, and he was beginning to fall into despair. One of the wands had even reacted so negatively to him that it had turned on Olivander and swatted at his head until Olivander grabbed a hold of it and put it back in it’s box. “ I wonder,” Harry found Olivander said that a lot. “ Perhaps no, but there seems to be no other explanation, Heir Potter this may seem like a personal question, but have you perhaps been dabbling in wandless magic?”

Harry had stiffened at the question, and he turned to look at Sev, to see what he should say. Sev however barely nodded, and Harry felt no sense of foreboding from him. He turned to Olivander and nodded, before raising his hand and summoning a magnifying glass from Olivander’s desk.

“ I see, yes in deed, I see.” Olivander ran ( as much as an old man could )to a different place in the store. “ Yes, fear not Heir Potter it is not your fault we have not found you a wand. It is the selection I was collecting them from. You see, wands choose the wizard, and they know when they are not properly suited for a wizard. I have been selecting wands that are usually meant for new witches and wizards. They are young wands who have never been connected to another witch or wizard. They are meant to grow with their wizard. But adult wizards who need a new wand do not connect well to those wands. No they need a more wizened one. And that is the same for you. Wandless Magic is a great skill, but it hinders a connection with a wand and new wands refuse to try, so now we shall find you a wand that has aged, like a wine.” He handed Harry a different wand, smaller than most he had been handed before.

“ It’s only nine inches. Willow, like your mother but with a phoenix feather as a core.” It allowed Harry to flick it, but no magic happened, and Harry decided against it. Several more aged wands followed a similar route. “ Hmmm, It seems we are on the right track but not the right train perhaps?” He walked to yet another section. “ Perhaps we must try a third option. I must apologize, Heir Potter. I had made a rather strong leap. You see, I thought that because your magic is powerful and at a level quite a bit more than others your age, I assumed that you would need a wand previously connected to another wizard. These wands were once owned and used by others, and for one reason or another they were returned or given to me to resell.” he hummed and harred as he looked about. “ I believe I have found a solution. An old wand, but one that has not been connected before. I have just the two. Perhaps it is best if you tried them both at the same time, just raise your hands above both and see which you can feel.” Harry obliged and raised his hands. The left hand rested on top of a fourteen inch wand with a really light wood, the right above an eleven inch one of a darker wood. He closed his eyes and spread his magic out to the wands. Both responded, with the left one being much less animated than the other. After a moment or two the left one subsided, and the right one flung itself into Harry’s hand. Harry felt a warmth and found himself smiling. Olivander gently reached forward, but Harry refused to hand over the wand, only turning it over so Olivander could look at it. “ Ahhh yes I see, Well Heir Potter, eleven inches holly with a phoenix core. So very peculiar.’

“Why is that ?”

“ Well you see, I had made that wand nearly eighty years ago. In fact it was one of two wands I completed for my Apprenticeship final. You see Heir Potter, that wand is very old, and has a twin. A twin wand not just in age but in core. That night I was struggling to make a wand for my Master, no cores would fuse with the woods I was using. Nearing hopelessness I had left the workshop to get some air. Suddenly a burst of light surprised me and a phoenix of the brightest colors landed in front of me. He had stared long and hard at me before he plucked two feathers from his tail, and left them for me before exploding into fire and disappearing. I took those feathers and made two wands that night, not one. Yours, and a young man many years ago. There was never really much precedence for something like this before, you see. But you and that young man have a connection as well. I do hope to find out where this will lead.”

“ Who had the other wand? And what connection?” Harry asked, not satisfied with the answer.

“ Oh, it was none other than Lord Voldemort. Ahh see? I do not need to tell you your connection you already know.” Olivander gave a rather sad smile. Harry had only nodded. Severus had stiffened in the background and Harry found he wanted to leave. He thanked Olivander for his time and for his new wand, before leaving the shop.

“ I think, perhaps, we have need of a treat.” Severus proposed, causing Harry to smile. They definitely needed a pick-me-up after that conversation. “ I feel that ice cream is what the Healer ordered.” With a hand resting on Harry’s shoulder, the two of them went into  _ Fortescue’s,  _ each of them ordering a sundae, with Harry getting a lot of topics, and Sev keeping his plain. Soon they found themselves back in their rented rooms.

“ Harry it is time that we discussed what I have attempted to avoid.” Severus began. “ As you well know, the situation at your home has been deplorable at best, and after the most recent events concerns have been raised by Dumbledore. You see Harry, while I can only speculate about what happened to you that night, I can properly inform you of the circumstances concerning Petunia. Of course I start with an educated guess, my conclusion being that Saffron bit her?” Harry nodded. “ I thought so. Well be aware that I was ford to tell Dumbledore of the bite marks I came across upon examining Petunia myself. He was perhaps a bit too enthused at the idea you had cursed your Aunt. By informing him of the bite he was swayed from his notions. He does not know what bit her, only that you could not possibly have caused her injuries. Be that as it may, Petunia was rushed to the hospital by that despicable husband, her injuries and his claims of you using Darke Magic against her set off multiple alarms and she was anonymously transferred to St. Mungo's. Your ‘ Uncle’ was sedated and returned to Number 4. I also gave him a small memory wipe of your ‘Aunt’ so he would not take his anger of her missing out on you.” Harry had slid up to sit on the side of Sev, and so Sev looped his arm around the young boy. “ Petunia has been in a magical coma due to complications from the venom in Saffron’s bite.” 

Saffron had squirmed her was out of Harry’s pocket, where she was rating all day, and hissed something to Harry. “ She claims she did nothing but bite her, and that you cannot prove anything.” Harry laughed a bit but sobered up remembering the conversation at hand.

“ Yes well, Petunia has since been revived and was returned to her home, Vernon’s memory was restored and he was angry to learn about the situation again threatening myself, and an Auror named Shacklebolt. Shacklebolt is a good man, who has found himself under the thumb of Dumbledore. He made to go and have a conversation with Dumbledore concerning the threats he made to us, and to you as well. No doubt Dumbledore has persuaded him otherwise, but for now nothing can be done.”

“So what happens now?” Harry asked, huddling more into Sev’s body.

“Unfortunately they are your legal guardians in the muggle world, and Dumbledore is yours in our world. You have been permitted to be here under my supervision, for one, a reason that Dumbledore refused to explain, but for another being I am who I am. I believe that Dumbledore had meant for my soured disposition to sway you away from Slytherin House and other ‘Darke’ wizards. He plays a game that we are only allowed to see bits and pieces of and I do not know where the pieces will lie. In his wisdom, Dumbledore has claimed you are more than ready to return to Number 4, so we shall be travelling there tomorrow. My true concern is how the Heir’s Protection shall take form. There is little doubt that it is in place. “ Sev swiped his thumb over the now barely noticeable scar of Harry’s head. “ But through our research Aggie and I have found many different causes of it, each manifesting in a different way. I want you to write to me the moment something happens so that we can prepare for it. Aggie is allowing me to borrow her journal so you will be speaking with me. Please refrain from asking those asinine questions you find yourself asking her.” He smiled to let Harry know he was joking. “ There is precedence, that the Protection will travel down the bond to protect your Familiar as well.” A hiss. “ My apologizes, it shall also protect Saffron as she has claimed your a her Familiar. I had hoped to give you a present and allow you to take her home to connect with her, but unfortunately I cannot run the risk of her being hurt in revenge for you.” 

Sev waved his wand over the corner of the room removing the disillusioned charm he had cast earlier. Harry could only marvel as he stared at the cage, or more specifically the snowy white owl inside. She seemed to notice his attention and turned hers to him as well. Harry felt a nagging feeling in his head, and he subconsciously focused his magic on it. There was a sharp pressure for a moment before it burst away like a dam. Harry fell backwards a bit and the owl shook her head as if in a daze. Severus at first startled by the situation soon collected himself and marveled at the situation. “ It seems I no longer must fear for her safety when she goes with you, for you have found yourself another familiar, a most unheard of situation if I may say so.” 

Harry continued to stare at the owl, his magic and thoughts finally coming down from such an incredible high. Slowly he came back to himself, reaching into the cage and petting his new familiar. “ You need a name sweetie.” 

_ “~Name it nothing. Remove her!~” _ Saffron’ insisted.

“ _ ~No such luck Saffron, she is bonded to me as I am to you. Look at it like this: you now have a familiar bonded to your familiar. Stories will be told of your greatness.~” _ Harry knew what buttons to push to get Saffron to agree, and in the end she relented but under extreme duress she claimed. He then turned around and grabbed Severus into the tightest hug he possibly could, conveying all the gratitude he possibly could. They stayed like that for a moment before Sev, broke them up claiming it was time for bed. Tomorrow Harry would return to Number 4 and they both felt it was better to get a good night's sleep.

For some unknown reason Harry thought that Number 4 would be different. Perhaps because Harry himself had changed, he felt the house should have too. It had not however and Harry found it difficult to transition back to the muggle world. He realized that was the problem, this was not his world anymore. He had gotten a taste of where he belonged and now his body and mind longed for it. Although the building has not changed, the people inside had. Petunia, ( Harry felt no connection to her and refused to honour her with the title of ‘Aunt’) now walked on eggshells, pretending Harry did not exist, and leaving the room in a flurry if he was there. Vernon (see his feeling for Petunia and raise them a bunch) was almost permanently angry, however after being threatened with the Heir’s Protection and suffering under it, Dudley had grabbed Harry’s arm way from a cookie he had meant to eat, and pulled him roughly, the pain in Harry’s arm and the bruises had transferred themselves to the other three members of the house, and he mostly grumbled and yelled but nothing else. His words still hurt Harry and Harry noticed Dudley and Petunia flinching under Vernon’s tirades, making him think perhaps that too was transferring to them. Dudley had become nothing more than a moping brat. After punching Harry in the face and giving the entire family matching black eyes, Dudley had discovered ‘consequences’ and he was not a happy boy. He blamed Harry and continued to harm the other boy, only to immediately be caught and his punishments grew and grew. He was still allowed to eat and was not hit, but he lost privileges and that was too demanding of his parents. 

A good thing for Harry however was that he was transferred from the cupboard and into the attic. It however could only be accessed from a staircase that was pulled open from the ceiling in the hallway, and only Vernon was tall and strong enough to open it, meaning Harry was basically at Vernon’s will to get into and out of his room. Fortunately for Harry they had discovered that if Harry was denied access to food or to the bathroom, that too was transferred over to the Dursleys, and he was treated better than he ever had before.

His attic room was not the best, but better than the cupboard. He had a full sized bed that had apparently been in the attic for years. Thankfully a wandless cleaning charm that Harry had secretly learned off of Sev, made it brand new. He had found that the vent on the wall led directly outside and so he could open it fully to allow Hedwig to fly in and out, and also letting Saffron onto the roof to sunbathe. He found several toys and even a few unused sketch pads and coloured pencils that Harry was almost certain forgotten gifts of Dudley’s. He also found a few pieces of clothing that were passable and Harry would magically alter to fit him. It was another spell that he had learned from Severus, purposely on Harry’s part, who had bought Sev, a much too big black sweater, and Sev was guilted into keeping, however he performed a tailor spell on it and in front of Harry.

Perhaps the best find was a box labeled ‘ Lily’s; with a small white flower drawn near it. Harry had found pictures of his mother as a child and even a few of Sev, which he was so going to torment the older man with. The greatest prize though was her copy of  _ The Standard Book Of Spells, Grade One.  _ The poor book had been covered in dust and Harry had attempted to air it out. The book ‘woke up’ and wiggled around a bit making a sound that Harry could only describe as a sneeze, before it settled in Harry’s hands clean as could be. He had quickly decided to use this one, and planned to give his copy away to either someone who needed it or to the school itself. He opened his mother’s copy to find small neat handwriting in the margins. He almost teared up when he realized it was his mother’s handwriting. He spent much of the next few days packing, but he left this one book out and would constantly read through the margins. Some were jokes or comments about other students and teachers to which Harry would find himself laughing and scowling accordingly. He wasn’t altogether surprised when he noticed a less defined version of Sev’s handwriting there either. His happiness knew no bounds as he read a small note that was stuffed in it’s pages. It was nonsense about how they should eat lunch by ‘their tree’ outside and bring a few more books because his mother had an idea about turning the levitating charm into the inverse spell and making things fall. He planned to talk to Sev about said spell, but he refused to let him have the note. He knew it was selfish of him , but he didn’t have anything of his mother, and Sev had his memories.

But now it was the night of August 31st, and Harry would be riding the Hogwarts express to Hogwarts tomorrow. Tomorrow his whole life would truly begin and Harry could not wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a little rushed, because as of this morning (Sunday Oct. 4th) It was not written at all. But I made a promise to myself to always have a chapter out on Monday, so I am sorry for any mistakes. I will most likely review it later in the week. 
> 
> * Google said the cores from Harry's parents wands are unknown, if that's not true, tell me an ill change them to be the correct information. 
> 
> * The Pottermore website concerning the wands you get at the parks, offer only three cores. To which I applied to Olivander's as well.
> 
> Hogwarts is finally up next I promise. I know I've said it like 5 chapters ago but I promise it's true.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter starts off with a Manic Panic attack. It is marked with lines before and after. As before the summary is in the end notes.

_________________________________________________________________

Harry really couldn't fall asleep. Less than hours from now, Harry would be on his way to King Cross. His mind was racing, and he found himself pacing around in the attic. Saffron had abandoned him to hide in his trunk, the pets compartment a comfortable temperature, along with the added bonus of not being near him at the moment. He understood, she wasn’t being mean, Harry was just a bit too much for her at the moment. Hedwig however watched with concern from her perch above her. She would occasionally hoot down to Harry, who would in turn look up to her with a smile confirming he was ok, before he began pacing again.

It wasn’t long before Harry, lost in his mind, heard Hedwig’s incessant hooting. He turned to once again tell her that he was okay, only to find her not on her perch but instead resting on his trunk. He found himself coming over to her.

“ What’s the matter Hedwig, you need a treat?” Harry cooed at her, his shaky hand reaching out to pet her. She lowered her voice to a coo of her own, and began scratching at the trunk’s lock with her talon. Harry smiled at her and opened it, fully expecting her to go to the pet compartment, hoping she wouldn’t awake or bother Saffron. Instead He poked her face into a different compartment and tried to pull out a sachet. “ No Hedwig, that’s not the owl treats.” Harry said, grabbing the sachet out of her grip. “ This is the bag of potions Sev gave me to take in emergencies.” He made to put the sachet in another place, however Hedwig was not having it and she hopped closer and nipped his fingers gently. “ Hedwig stop.” Harry was getting a little annoyed with her, and he pulled his hand and the sachet away. She followed it though managing to catch on to the string holding it closed, pulling it and opening the bag. Several potion bottles tumbled out, thankfully all unbreaking, and Harry sighed a heavy sigh before bending down to pick them up. Hedwig followed again, but Harry tried to shoo her away. “ You’ve done enough girl, I don’t know what’s going on but I can’t handle this at the moment.” She ignored him and stood over one particular potion, hooting loudly at Harry again. “ Hedwig, these are people potions, they are not meant for you” He reached over to her to pick up the potion. Hedwig seemed to puff up and ruffle her feathers at Harry, with Harry getting a feeling that she was just as annoyed with him as he was with her. Still he needed to clean up now, and it was not helping him to relax. He took the final potion, the one in front of her, and started to put it away only for Hedwig to hop over and try to nip at Harry’s fingers again. “ Hedwig, enough is enough.” Harry said sternly, “You cannot have this potion, it will make you sick.”

A nagging feeling was in the back of Harry’s mind, and he started to brush it away, only for it to intensify instead. Harry’s frustration was building and he found his full body shaking. He felt himself losing control and began to panic. A sharp pain to his finger had him snapping out a bit and he raised the finger to his face, noting without any feeling that it was in fact bleeding. He looked down to the culprit, and found Hedwig nudging the bottle he had dropped over to him. He picked it up and held it to his face, staring at it until his mind cleared enough for him to see Sev’s handwriting clearly labeling it as a calming drought. It took him a moment to realize that it was what he needed and he found himself quickly pulling the cork out and chugging the potion down ignoring the horrid taste. It settled in his stomach and a mild numbing feeling travelled through his body and made its way to his head, clearing the fog there quite a bit. Managing a smile, Harry turned to face Hedwig. “ I’m sorry sweetie. You were right.” He reached his hand out to pet her head, Hedwig leaning her head into his touch. “I think I can sleep now. I’m really sorry for worrying you.” He went to his bed, with Hedwig flying a bit to land on the headboard. She learned over to preen Harry’s hair. He pet her again, muttered a good night and let the potion put him to sleep with Hedwig standing guard above him.

_________________________________________________________________

Harry was making breakfast. He had woken up a bit earlier than he expected, packing all his stuff and letting Hedwig out. Vernon had been in an almost good mood, opening the attic up with barely a mutter of annoyance, and with Harry wishing for that mood to stay, he found himself making a large breakfast for the Durlseys. A big English with the works. Hopefully it would keep Vernon’s temper long enough to make the drive to King’s Cross bearable. Thankfully it seemed to placate the man, and Harry’s trip was uneventful, minus the grumblings of ‘ no freak for nine months’ as Harry ludged his trunk out of the boot of the car. 

It was at this point where Harry stumped. He hadn’t bothered to read his ticket, believing it would be rather straightforward. Surprise, surprise though, it wasn’t. Platform 9 ¾? What did that even mean? Of course there was no information in the Hogwarts letter explaining it. Harry meandered about between both platforms hoping to see an entrance, or at least see some other witch or wizard family use it. He found himself a bench that gave him the best view of the area, and waited. He had plenty of time and was not worried in the least. Saffron had taken to wrapping around his neck, her head barely visible from within his collar.

“~ What are we waiting for, I’m hungry.~”

“~ I’m afraid I don’t know where to go. The ticket is labeled 9 ¾ and that is not an option here. We are waiting for another Witch or Wizard to get to the platform, then we shall follow them.~” He reached into his pocket ( which contained an expandable charm courtesy of Sev) and pulled out a baggy containing boiled eggs. He ate one himself and gave another to Saffron, who then poked her head out to steal the next one that Harry attempted to eat, earning her a boop to the nose. Saffron soon took to people watching, giving Harry her own personal commentary,more often than not leaving Harry in stitches. She began to describe a large family of redheads when Harry stopped her, his magic reacting to them.

“~I think this is it Saffron, that family is magical.~” Harry apologized for interrupting her.

“~Follow them then. I want a nap. I ate too much.~” She grumbled at him. Harry grabbed all his things and followed the redheads several paces behind. He took the time to watch them as well, picking up as much as he could about them. Harry couldn’t help but feel a little jealous about how big of a family they were, and found himself getting closer to them. He couldn’t help but listen in on the conversations as well. 

“ Mum can I have a piece of chocolate?” The little girl asked. Harry figured she was the youngest and not yet old enough to go to Hogwarts since she was holding her mother’s hand and not pushing a trolley with her trunk on it.

“No Ginny dear. You’ve already had quite a bit on the way here. We don’t want you getting sick.” The mother told her, smiling down at her. “ I’ll make you a big lunch when we get home okay?” Ginny only frowned a bit before nodding her head. 

“Ginny come here a moment.” One of the taller boys, Harry realized was actually identical to the other boy onto his side. Ginny nodded and let go of her mother’s hand before walking back to the twins. The one who called her pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her,while the other one looked at their mother. Ginny opened her hands and grew a large smile at the piece of chocolate she had been given. The other older brother looked at them, scowling at the twins, but smiled down to Ginny. Both twins laughed at him and proceeded to continue walking on. Harry found himself smiling at the moment, but it was interrupted by the younger brother yelling.

“ Fred! Why did you give her a piece of chocolate, I want a piece of chocolate! Give me one now!” He had stomped his foot and stopped pushing his trolley causing a scene. Their mother first turning around at the screaming, soon turned a harsh look of disapproval at the twins. She began to berate the twins, while Ginny went to hand back the chocolate to one of the twins, probably hoping it would stop them from getting in trouble. Unfortunately the youngest brother had other ideas. “ If you don’t want it I’ll eat it.” Ripping it from the girl’s hands and shoving the entire piece in his mouth. This had their mother turn her attention to him, and he found himself being in trouble for stealing candy from his sister. Personally Harry felt he should have been punished for his tantrum, but at least he was being told off. The twins sprouted out apologies and moved on, with the other older brother taking Ginny’s hand and following them.

“Now come along Ronnie dear, “ The mother started, done with her small rant, “ We are going to be late, and you don’t want to be late for your first year.” ‘Ronnie’ now had a face as red as his hair and he grumbled some unkind things about his other siblings before roughly pushing his trolley forward.

Harry had slowed down a bit to stay behind them .He felt kind of bad watching the other kids being yelled at, but he couldn’t afford to lose them. Their mother had been right when she claimed they would be late soon. Time sure had flown by. The family trudged on, stopping quite suddenly in front of a large brick pillar.

“ Fred why don’t you go first?” Their mother asked, patting one of the twins on the shoulder.

“ I’m George, woman! Why can’t you tell your own children apart?” He complained, readying himself to do something, Harry wasn’t to sure.

“ I’m sorry George. Would you still go first please?” Her face showing she was truly upset with herself.

“ Only kidding mum, I am Fred.” He laughed, dodging her attempt to slap the back of his head as he went by, running straight into the pillar. And by into the pillar Hary meant INTO the pillar. As if it wasn’t even there Fred seemed to just phase through the wall. The other twin, George, followed after, then the last older brother, followed by the youngest. The mother paused a moment with Ginny in hand.

“I wonder why Albus wanted us to use the Muggle entrance this year?” She asked herself. “ Oh well, Ginny dear hold my hand okay?” Together they passed through. Harry waited a moment, giving the family time to move on from the otherside, before pushing his trolley slowly through himself. He found himself holding his breath as he passed into the portal, feeling a wave of magic travel from his head to his feet. His breath rushed out of him as he came to land on a new Platform. A huge red steam engine took up much of the view. Harry stumbled a bit though when he realized how crowded the platform was with families: young children ran between adults, screaming and chasing each other, the adults hugging the older children wishing them a safe trip, or asking them to write to them, or giving them last minute advice. He also saw that the twins from before had sandwiched their mother between them in a massive hug. He didn’t know what they told her but she formed a watery smile from whatever it was. Harry felt a sharp pain in his chest, and found himself turning away from the crowd and heading off to the train. Saffron had noticed his discomfort and was hissing sweet things into his ear. 

Harry could manage a watery smile of his own as he loaded his trunk onto the train, and got himself on, searching for an empty compartment. It took a few tries but he finally came to one he could claim for his own. He took advantage of the trunk’s embedded feather-light charms, and lifted it onto the racks above the seat, pulling out the Potter Grimoire out first. Saffron also climbed to the rack and wrapped herself around one of its poles. He sat down and opened the book. No sooner than he flipped a page, the door to the compartment slid open, Harry knew it wasn’t going to be Theo, or Blaise, both had sent him letter telling him they would have to interact with other Heirs and friends, claiming they could start off doing that and would be able to spend the rest of the train ride with him. Harry was perfectly fine with that, glad that it meant he would most likely get to be by himself for a while. So Harry was quite surprised when his compartment was invaded by the twin redheads, one of which sat down, the other closing the door and waving his wand over it, locking the compartment, clearly not using the standard locking charm, earning a raised eyebrow from Harry. He smuggled the Grimoire behind him, knowing that even if they couldn’t touch it it was best to keep it out of their sights.

“ Well brother of mine, look what we found here.” Twin Number One said, Harry decided to number them until he could figure out which was which, and he would.

“ Yes brother I do see. Looks like we came across the young fellow who had decided to spy on our dear family.” Twin Number Two sat down next to his brother. Both with stern looks pointed directly at Harry. Harry began to feel panicked, finding himself trapped in a small room with two seemingly angry older boys. His panic washed away almost as soon as it came as he felt no malicious intent from the twins, only mirth. He decided to take a risk.

“Do you have proof?” Harry aske, trying to keep his face as innocent and calm as possible.

“ Excuse me?” Twin Number One asked, clearly confused. “ Proof of what?”

“ That I was spying on you.” Harry raised his hands in imitation of quotation marks when he said `spying’.” Do. You. Have. Proof” Inwardly he was sweating hoping he was playing the game they actually wanted and not just making a fool of himself..

“We saw you!” Twin Number Two exclaimed. “What proof do we need but our word? There’s two of us against one of you. The professors would surely punish you when we tell them you were spying on our family for something nefarious.”

“ So hearsay then? That’s your proof?” Harry found himself shaking his head in disbelief. “ You think that the professors would take your word over a small innocent lad like myself?” Harry’s face contorting into the most innocent face he could.

“As my dear brother said, there are two of us. Of course they would believe us over you!” Twin Number One cried out.

“ Really? They would put their faith in the two of you?” Harry scoffed. “ Two boys who would cruelly play a prank on their own mother? That would surely mean that they have no limits, and would most likely be regularly pranking students and perhaps even the professors. Perhaps you have stronger proof?” Harry smirked at the twins waiting for their response. He didn’t have to wait long as both boys wore matching expressions of surprising before the Twins broke out into laughter. Harry found himself joining in realizing he had passed whatever test they had planned for him. 

Finally they settled themselves down, and turned to face each other. It was clear to Harry they were having some kind of a conversation so he politely looked away and waited for them to start. “Very well, it seems you have us figured out.” Twin Number Two congratulated Harry, he reached his hand out to him, “the name’s George Weasley, the more handsome of the Twins.”

Harry reached out to shake the older boy’s hand, his magic telling him that he was lying. “ You know that Oscar Wilde once claimed ‘ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness’” He turned to Twin Number One, who Harry now knew to actually be George, “ That must make you the better twin right?”

It took both Twins a few moments, one to realise Harry had somehow figured which was which, and another for Twin Number Two, now Fred, to figure out he had been insulted. George found himself nearly falling off the seat from laughter, and Fred began playfully whacking him, demanding he stop laughing and defend his honour. George finally calmed down but stopped moving completely as he stared at something above his head. Harry and Fred both looked to see what had trapped George’s attention. “ Is that a snake?” George asked.

Harry panicked but immediately blurted out the first thing he could. “ Was that an illegal uncertified locking charm you did?” All three of them paused, each waiting to see what would happen next.

Fred raised his hand and put it down on Harry’s shoulder. “ We like you, don’t we George?” George just nodded in agreement. “ But where are our manners, we have introduced ourselves, but have failed to ask who you were.” He pretended to be upset at the faux pas he had apparently let happen.

Harry took a deep breath, before raising his left arm close fisted over his chest and bowed his head a reasonable amount. “ I am Heir Harry Potter. But you two may honour yourselves by using my first name.” A huge smile graced Harry’s face as once again he had managed to silence the two pranksters.

“ You’re Harry Potter, as in THE HARRY POTTER?” Both Twins spoke in unison.

“ Is there another Harry Potter I should know about? Do I have to fight for my name in some sort of gladiatorial combat?” Harry asked a bit sarcastically.

“ No it’s not that-” Fred began.

“It’s just we-” George continued.

“Expected you to”

“Be taller.”

Harry’s neck hurt a bit switching between the twins. “ I’m only eleven. I’ll grow into my name, don't worry.” 

Both twins laughed a bit before having another mental conversation. Harry knew what they truly expected. It was common knowledge from Albus Dumbledore himself, that Harry was being raised by muggles. They most likely expected him to act like any other muggleborn student and not having knowledge of the Traditions of an Heirship.

“ Well Harrikins” Fred started, both laughing at the grimace that Harry produced.

“As much as we”

“Would love to spend”

“The rest of this lovely train ride with you,”

“ We have people to see,”

“Food to sneak,”

“And brothers to prank.” They both rose and bowed dramatically to Harry.

“Let me get the door for you.” Harry said, raising his wand. He didn’t really need it for this spell but not wanting the Twins to know about his wandless abilities. He liked the Twins but wasn’t ready to trust them yet. He waved his wand at the door, and all three heard the loud clunk of it unlocking. He enjoyed the stunned look on the Twins again, before they both bowed again to him thanking him and leaving. Harry went to shut the door but heard the Twins speaking to one another.

“I like him, Gred, I really do”

“Me too Forge. He’s gonna cause so much trouble. I can’t wait.” Both Twins laughed. Harry felt a warmth in his chest. Maybe, just maybe he could make a few more friends.

  
  


It was nearly an hour later when Harry’s stomach growled and he took his head out of the Potter Grimoire. Over the last few weeks after he had received all of the Family Grimoires, Harry had tried to read from each of them. He had soon found each to have their own personalities and particularities. They all were of the same base, in that they were made up of the writings of former Lords and Heirs and their spouses, with most of their contents being that Family’s particular Traditions, Magics, and Rituals. His personal favorite part of each Grimoire though, was the anecdotes written by the Lords and Heirs. With some treating it as a diary, and others an almost scientific journal describing their processes in making spells, or potions, and even a few rituals. All of which warned against using until Harry’s Majority. Harry had learned each of the Family’s Gifts and attempted several of them, even though almost all of the Grimoires claimed he would not be able to access them until his Majority. Surprisingly Harry learned that Parseltongue was in fact not the Slytherin Family Gift. However both the Slytherin Grimoire and the Gryffindor one both refused to tell Harry what the Gifts were he could claim. Both of the Founder’s Grimoires were difficult to read but their Magic was wonderful. Harry also found it quite amusing that they tended to end up near each other, no matter how far away Harry put them in the trunk compartment specifically made to hold his Grimoires, they would almost always end up side by side. Although Harry had inherited the Heirship of six Families, he only had five, with the Gaunt Family having a section in the Slytherin Grimoire instead of its own. The Black Grimoire was Harry’s least favorite, mostly because it wasn’t the most well mannered of the Grimoires. More often than not it refused to let Harry open it, and Harry mostly felt a wave of annoyance from it when he tried. What was worse was that when he did manage to open it and read from it, it almost seemed like a different book with every page. His magic sensing every change the book took part of. The Peverell Grimoire was the quiet one, Harry being able to describe it only as an old man who was usually asleep in the corner at family events. But oh boy, when it was awake, it’s magic was enticing, and usually ensnared Harry’s attention for quite a while. He learned quite a bit from it, mostly history thought to be long lost. He hoped it would allow him to one day write out it’s history and publish it for others to read.

His personal favourite, and perhaps it was his bias showing, was the Potter Grimoire. The Grimoire’s disposition was that of a kindly old grandmother, and Harry had promptly come to name it Granny. To which she, and it was definitely a she, while the other Grimoires, minus the Black Grimoire, were certainly agendered, the Potter Grimoire was most definitely a she, took great delight in her new title. Granny Grimoire would be the one to actually push him out of her pages if she felt he was reading too much, and she would send him little imprints of concern over whether or not he was eating or sleeping enough. He wasn’t afraid to admit he cared for Granny Grimoire. He was most happy to note that the Potter’s of the past were more likely to use Granny Grimoire as a diary of sorts, and he found himself reading about the daily lives of Potters of Olde. He had even come across a small note from his father when he was an Heir. It was just a question he had about becoming an Animagus, but with the finding of his mum’s textbook and just a simple line from his dad, Harry never felt more connected to either. He had read from Lord Edmund Potter, from the late fifteenth century, that he had laid a charm on the Family Grimoire, to make it so it would grow with the Heir, revealing more information the older and more powerful and mature the Heir became. Harry was frustrated at first but managed to get over it at the promise he might get to read more from his dad. However for the time being, Harry was more than happy to keep up the Tradition of writing in Granny Grimoire and at the moment he was writing about his meeting with the Twins.

Harry stopped reading when he heard a knock at the door, and he slid the Grimoire under the nearby cushion. He called out that they could enter, and was surprised once again by another guest, who was once again not Blaise or Theo. Instead stood a young dark skinned girl with rather large and unruly hair. Harry felt a moment of comradery at the shared suffering of hair, but put it aside to welcome her, by dipping his head. He raised it only to see a look of pure disdain from the action.

“Have you seen a toad?” She immediately demanded, failing to start with an introduction or even a simple greeting. Harry supposed he should be grateful for a knock. Before he could even respond in the negative she spoke again. “ A boy named Neville has lost his toad, and I’ve decided to help him find it.” She seemed to come off a little haughty and Harry felt when she decided to help it didn’t matter if poor Neville even wanted it.

“I’m sorry no, It has just been myself in the compartment since a few friends left to go and meet up with others.” He prayed that Saffron had gone back into her compartment in his trunk, as the girl scanned the room apparently not happy enough with his words. Her eyes landed on the half hidden Grimoire, and she immediately came to sit down across from him. 

“ What book is that?” She demanded. “ The binding looks rather old.” She reached over for it. “ Give it here, I want to take a better look at it.”Harry refused, pushing Granny Grimoire further away from her, before grabbing it and holding it to his body. “Seriously, just let me take a look. I love books, my Librarian near my house always praises me for how well I return the books I borrow.” She continued to reach for it even as Harry pulled it even further away, eventually running out of room. Unfortunately it meant that she could just manage to touch the binding with the tip of her finger.” Owww. What did you do? Why did that book hurt me? Is that a Darke Book? I’ve read about Darke books being illegal. Does your mom or dad know you have such a disgusting book? What about the faculty? I am going to go find a Prefect. You are going to be in so much trouble trying to smuggle a Darke book into Hogwarts.”

Finally she finished her rant before scrambling out of the compartment, leaving the door open, presumably to go find a Prefect to try and take his Grimoire away. Harry wasn’t concerned, it was his right to have Granny Grimoire with him, and even if she went to a Professor, the worst they could do was ask him to not have it out in public. They could not confiscate it or give him detention. Ironically enough they could give her detention if Harry decided to make a big deal of it. He decided it was safe to go back to the Grimoire, but was interrupted again. This time it was from a deep croak from under his bench. He learned over to see what it was and found a toad. He reached out to grab the rather large toad, who seemed quite content in his hand. Harry found himself petting it.

“ You must be that naughty toad who escaped from Neville.” Harry reprimanded the toad, receiving a rather independent croak back.

“~Is that lunch?~” Saffron asked from Harry’s collar, startling the boy who had no idea how she got there without noticing.

“~ No, this is someone’s pet.~” He paused for a moment, his magic feeling something else. “ ~Actually can you feel that? It believe this toad is actually Neville’s Familiar.~”

“~ I want to eat it. It shall provide me with enough energy for several days~” Saffron asserted.

“~No, he’s a Familiar. How’d you like it if something came around and ate me?~” Causing Saffron to hiss laugh at him.

“~ You’re much too bony to be worth eating~” However she did relent and went back to sleep her head nestled near his neck. Harry muttered under his breath something he would definitely get bitten for, before turning his attention to the toad, who had apparently fallen asleep under Harry’s petting. He just sighed giving in to his new position as a bed for apparently all forms of Familiars. He found himself also falling asleep and gave in, knowing that Blaise could not resist waking him up when they finally got there.

He found himself wrong though, when he was not rudely woken up by Blaise, but by whispering. He peaked one eye open and saw that it was Blaise and Theo who were whispering between each other, looking over at Harry. Harry muttered a bit, and tried to sit up, only realizing that a heavy weight was on his shoulder. He moved his hand to see what it was, but found he still had a certain toad sleeping in his hand. Thankfully a hoot let him know who it was and he smiled contentedly.

“ Hello Hedwig, how’d you get here. I thought you planned to fly to Hogwarts?” He paused for a moment as she flooded him with a bit of her emotions, picking up the joy of flying in a new area, followed by impatience? “ Oh I see, you actually flew all the way there but once there it was too boring, so you flew back to come visit?” A coo was her response, and Harry used his free hand to give her some pets. “ But how did you get in here?”

“ We let her in.” Theo started.

“ I think Theo here means I let her in, Harvey.” Blaise interrupted him. 

“ Anyways, we came in around twenty minutes ago and you were asleep. I convinced Balise to let you sleep, but almost as soon as we shut the door we heard a tapping from the window. It seems Hedwig was flying on the side of the compartment waiting for someone to let her in.”

Blaise continued from where Theo left off. “ Almost as soon as I( emphasis on the I) opened the window she flew in and landed on your sleeping body, and closed her eyes. But it seems like that’s just par for the course for you apparently. I noticed Saffron in your collar, and a, welI hope you noticed the toad in your hand yourself?” Blaise wrinkled his nose at the toad, causing Harry to laugh.

“ Yeah, It looks like I’ve become a reststop for Familiars.” Harry joked, earning him looks of confusion from both pureblood wizards. He sighed and explained what reststop was, also telling them that the toad was the Familiar to some boy named Neville. Soon they began a conversation of what they each did on the ride so far, with Theo starting, and Blaise constantly speaking over him. Both made claims to formally introduce Harry to a few other Heirs and important Families, that Harry was truly grateful for. Harry in turn told them of how he followed the Weasley bunch to the portal, and his confrontation with the Twins, earning a whistle from Theo, telling Harry that the Twins are infamous pranksters and it would be great to have them on his side in the future. He ended his report of his trip with the incident with the girl who decided to grab his Grimoire.

“ So that’s what that was about! “ Blaise exclaimed, before elaborating. “ While Theo and I were conversing with a few Slytherin Prefects, this bushy haired girl rushed in demanding to have a Prefect come and take a Darke book that some unknown first year was attempting to smuggle in. One of the sixth year Prefect called her out on her rudeness, telling her that the Hogwarts Express has charms to deny any Darke artifacts or books from being brought on. She even went a bit further in telling the girl to not waste their time. The girl left in a rush claiming she’d find some other Prefect to help her.” Blaise started laughing at the memory and Theo was even smiling. “ Harvard? Why is it always you? I think perhaps Professor Snape was correct in claiming you have a proclivity for trouble.”

Harry couldn’t deny it, and could only laugh along with them. A knock at the door, had the trio calming down, and Theo being closest, opened it. A Prefect with a yellow tie, poked his head in informing them they were close to Hogwarts and should put on their robes. Harry thanked him and they set to work changing. They finished just in time as the train came to a halt, as Blaise helped Harry tie his tie. Butterflies soon took over Harry’s stomach, and with a single hoot from Hedwig, Harry took a calming draught out and drank it. Together with Theo and Blaise ( and Saffron in his collar, Hedwig on his shoulder and the toad in his hands) Harry stepped off the train.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of First few paragraphs: Harry is unable to relax because it is the night before he leaves for Hogwarts. He has further trouble relaxing and works himself up. Hedwig watches in concerna dneventually tries to help him. Harry doesn't understand tho and struggles to deal with it. Finally from the Familial Bond they share he is able to relaise she wants him to take a calming draught. He does and thanks her before falling asleep. End summary.
> 
> Technically it ends at Hogwarts? Kinda? So I didn't lie? While reviewing what I wrote for this chapter, I decided to reread the actual chapters J.K. Rowling wrote for the train ride. And realized I just didn't do the ride justice. With the original only being like a page and a half in a Google doc. And now it's over ten.... opps? The good news is I have the Sorting written out so there's no possible way I get side tracked without the next chapter actually being Hogwarts centric.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

  
  


One step off the train, and Harry almost fell in a puddle, only being saved by a quick thinking Theo. Hedwig had taken flight, fully intent on leaving Harry to fall without her. Blaise only laughed before helping Theo to right Harry’s stance. Thanking both of them Harry followed what seemed to be the rest of the first years, being called over by a behemoth.

“Firs’ years, This way.” Bellowed the man Harry knew to be Hagrid. Sev had given Harry a rather detailed description of all the other staff members, to which Harry had written in another one of his journals. Harry had taken to filling out a never ending journal with information he learned about important people, including the professors at Hogwarts.. Thankfully Blaise was unaware of this one, or Harry would never hear the end of it. “Follow me, Don’t wan’ ter be late fer your firs’ Feast.” Hagrid waved a lantern on a stick to gather everyone’s attention. He lead them along a rather muddy and rough path, with another boy, Harry, recognized to be Heir Malfoy, making mocking statements about the obviously half giant to a girl beside him. Harry had taken a double take when he saw the girl, sensing a bit of deja vu from her. It happened again when he saw a boy who looked like her lagging a bit behind her, talking to ‘Ronnie’. Unfortunately it seems Ronnie had heard the comment as well and was threatening to fight Heir Malfoy for Hagrid’s honour.

Their yelling did not deter Hagrid, in fact it seemed the man was truly as oblivious to his surroundings as Sev had claimed. Instead it was left to a Prefect from Slytherin who Harry remembered was actually ‘Ronnie’s’ old brother. Heir Malfoy and the girl had only snickered as Slytherin Weasley began berating ‘Ronnie’, much like their mother, and warning him he would lose points for whichever House he joins before he is even sorted if he continued. Red faced and hands tightly fisted, ‘Ronnie’ muttered under his breath but put some distance between him and Heir Malfoy, sadly, ending up rather close to Harry and his friends.

“ My own bloody brother betraying me.” He ranted to a pair of boys on the side of them all. “ That’s what you can come to expect from anyone in Slytherin House. Not to say Percy was ever a good brother, but ever since he joined those blood Slytherins, he’s become near impossible to be around” His expression taking a dark turn as he practically spit out the word ‘ Slytherin’. The other two boys must have agreed because they both nodded along. 

“ You should really watch your language.” The bossy girl from the train told ‘Ronnie’ quite loudly. While his ranting had attracted a small audience, her comment earned a lot more heads to turn. Prefect Weasley was about to come over, but the Hufflepuff Prefect had grabbed his arm stopping him in his tracks. She whispered something in his ear, and he only muttered something shaking his head. Harry looked around, meeting the eyes of the girl near Heir Malfoy. She stopped for a moment before a kind of mean smirk claimed her face. She nudged Heir Malfoy and told him something, obviously about Harry and the duo turned their attention from the argument between ‘Ronnie’ and Bossy Girl to both smirk at him.

“ Who’s that girl standing besides Heir Malfoy?” Harry asked to Blaise. If anyone would know it’d be him. He still could not shake the feeling that he knew her, and the other boy who was obviously her twin. They both had dark hair, the boy’s a massive mess, while the girl’s was clearly as tamed as she could get it. Both also had glasses with boy’s being a solid black, but the girl’s had some kind of a green finish on the rims.

Both Theo and Blaise turned to check out who Harry was talking about. “ I have no idea.” Blaise stated, apparently annoyed with not knowing. Theo nodded in agreement. “ All I know about her and her brother is they are twins and from somewhere on the Continent. I heard her speak and picked up a faint French accent so I would assume they are French.” He shook his head. “ The problem is no one seems to know them, and as far as I know, only formally introduced themselves to Draco, I do know the boy’s name is Aiden though. Heard it from when he started talking to the red faced buffoon.” Turning his attention to Aiden, who was behind his sister, staring off into the woods.

While their attention was away from the argument, the Hufflepuff Prefect had apparently lost her handle of Percy, who had actually grabbed ‘Ronnie’ by the ear and had dragged him off the path a bit to yell at him. Hagrid was still leading the way, blindly ignoring all the ongoings behind him. Sev had surprised Harry when he had said that Hagrid was an ‘ airheaded oaf to whom you cannot help but like’, mostly because Harry could count on two fingers how many people Sev had ever given a ‘nice’ description of. Harry could see what he meant as, even though he ignored the fighting, he had helped up one of the girls who was walking near him as she missed a step and fell down. He had gone a bit further even, and was now carrying her on his shoulders, as she laughed along to whatever he was telling her.

“ I personally don’t believe any House is better than the other.” Bossy Girl was lecturing a couple of girls. “ Of course, I want to be in Gryffindor House, it’s where Headmaster Dumbledore was placed, and since he’s the Greatest Wizard alive, according to _ Hogwarts: A History,  _ it makes sense I should be in that House since I plan to follow in his footsteps as well.” Harry found himself actually hoping she was sorted where she wanted. He didn’t know if he could handle being in the same common room as her for the next seven years. “ Headmaster Dumbledore once stated that Gryffindor Tower was the best place in all of England. I cannot wait to make myself at home there.” She continued to lecture, constantly bringing up all the great things that Dumblerdore had once claimed. Harry turned away and began watching and studying all of the other children. There were several small groups, walking separately together. Harry could plainly see the kids who grew up together and how they differed from the clearly muggleborn children, who huddled together but barely talked.

His attention turned to a boy who was further behind everyone. His robes were rather high end, but were sprinkled with mud. It was his face that caught Harry’s attention. It was just a look of utter defeat, and hopelessness. Harry instantly wanted to help him. “ Who’s that?” Harry asked Blaise, nudging him in the gut to get his attention.

“ That’s Heir Longbottom.” Blaise stated, looking at the boy, then turning away. “ He’s kind of a walking mess.” He shamelessly began gossipping. “ his parents were tortured by Death Eaters when he was a baby, and he was raised by his grandmother. My mother compares her to a suit of armour, person in shape, metal in personality. Mother’s friend of a friend claims she puts too much pressure on young Neville there, constantly comparing him to his father, who the friend went to school with and remembered Lady Longbottom constantly belittling him as well.”

“Neville?” Harry asked, before slowing his steps so that Heir Longbottom would meet up. Harry knew of the Longbottoms, some from Granny Grimoire, but mostly from Sev. Granny had descriptions of long ago Longbottoms, with friendships between them and the Potters for nearly four centuries. Allies in battle and in legislature, the Longbottoms and the Potters had the record for longest Alliance in Magical England. Sev had given Harry a more personal history. Lord Franklin Longbottom was several years older than Harry’s parents, and while at Hogwarts they had very little interactions except to confirm the Family Alliances. It was outside of Hogwarts where they actually had bonded. After graduation James had immediately joined the Aurors, where a freshly promoted Auror Longbottom became his mentor. Everything James had learned had come from Lord Longbottom, and by all accounts both men were highly trained and skilled Aurors. 

Alice Longbottom Nee Fortescue, was in Harry’s parents’ year, and shared a dorm room with Lily. Sev hadly foundly explained how Lily and himself had started out as a duo, but soon Alice had joined them making a nearly unbreakable trio. According to Sev, Alice was just a happy and all around kind person. It was Lily that caused the trouble, Sev who tried to hide the evidence, but it was Alice who turned on the charm and got them out of trouble. Even after what Sev called the “ Dark times” meaning fifth, sixth and seventh year when Sev was not friends with them, Lily and Alice had become inseparable. It was only after Hogwarts that Sev had rekindled a friendship with the two girls in secret. Lily had claimed Alice to be the sister she had always wanted by then, and they were both maid of honours at each other’s weddings. What was probably the most important bit for Harry was finding out that Neville’s mother was in fact Harry’s Godmother, and that Lily was Godmother to Neville. That connected the two in Harry’s mind. He had been more than overjoyed when Sev had told him this. He began to secretly think of themselves as Godsiblings, and Harry’s heart ached for that kind of bond.

“ Well met, Heir Longbottom.” Harry dipped his head low, his arm to his chest, giving Heir Longbottom the greatest show of respect. Unfortunately, he hadn’t timed it right, and he banged heads with the boy as Heir Longbottom had been leaning down a bit looking in the muddy puddle at his feet, and was startled into standing up as he heard Harry. Both boys pulled away rubbing at their heads.

“ Oh I’m so sorry, I’m t-t-to-too clumsy as my Gran likes to say.” Heir Longbottom claimed. Almost as if he suddenly remembered what Harry had said, he immediately rose his arm to his chest and dipped his head slightly to Harry. “ Well met … I’m s-sorry but I don’t recognize you.” Which of course seems to unnerve the already nervous wreck of a boy.

“ Oh no I’m sorry, I scared you and I haven’t introduced myself.” Harry was becoming flustered. This is not how he had wanted this to go “ I’m uh, I’m Heir Potter.” He found himself stuttering. “ But you can just call me Harry.”

“ You’re Harry Potter?” Heir Longbottom’s jaw had dropped. “ I mean of course you are. You look just like your dad, but with your mother’s eyes. I suppose you already know that though. Gran had pictures of your parents in the albums of my own parents. I suppose you haven’t seen them though. They are wonderful. I’ll ask Gran to send the album. She is gonna flip when she hears I met you. Gran’s tried for years to find you. Unfortunately Headmaster Dumblerdore has stopped her at every step. Oh I’m sorry I’m rambling.” A red faced Heir managed to squeak out as he had not taken a breath since he started speaking. Harry couldn’t help smiling at the boy. “ Oh and you can just call me Neville as well, Gran told me we were practically inseparable as babies. Well at least until, well you know.” As if realizing he was speaking too much, Neville just shut his mouth and stared awkwardly at Harry.

Struggling to find something to say, Harry just blurted out the thought that was over taking his mind. “ Well I mean we are Godsiblings, it only makes sense we should be close.” He immediately covered his mouth when he uttered the word ‘Godsiblings’. It was not a thing and Harry feared it would be off putting to the other boy. 

“Godsiblings.” Neville muttered to himself. “ Yes I like it.” a goofy smile took his face over. “ I guess that means you know about our mothers being each other’s godmother. I’ve always wanted a brother. Uh I mean if you don’t mind.” Neville bashfully turned to Harry. Harry could only smile and nod in his response. It wasn’t long before the two boys caught up on lost time between, walking together talking about everything and nothing at the same time. They both bonded over a shared love of plants, with Harry describing muggle plants to Neville, who asked more questions than answers Harry actually had, and Neville explaining Magical plants, with Harry asking just as many if not more questions. All too soon their trek finally ended and the two boys quieted down to listen to Hagrid, who was giving instructions out.

“ Four ter a boat, please.” Hagrid bellowed out, helping a few of them get into a boat. Harry looked over to see that Theo and Blaise had stepped aside and were waiting for Harry. Harry smiled at them and went to turn to Neville, to invite him to share a boat with them, only to find the other boy had turned away and was walking a bit back down the path.

“Neville, we have to take a boat. I don’t know if you know Heir Nott or Zabini, but they're my friends and you don’t have to worry about them.” Harry had seen how Neville had gotten too nervous around the other students, and he didn’t want to lose Neville, they had already become close.

“ Oh. It’s no-not that Harry.” Neville had started stuttering again. “I’ve just lost my toad. Gran told me I should have left him at the Manor, bu-bu-but I didn’t want him to get lonely. Now I've only gone and lost him! Trevor is go-gone.” Tears had begun flowing out, and His words had devolved to mutters.

“Neville, It’s okay.” Harry tried pacifying his new friend, handing him a handkerchief he had in his pockets. “ I’m sorry, “ He gave a sad laugh.” It seems we just keep apologizing to each other.” He reached into his pocket where a really naughty toad had been sleeping. “ I uh I found this on the train, and besides meeting you, I had really wanted to give him back.” He handed Trevor over to Neville.

“Trevor!” Nevilled exclaimed, holding the newly returned toad to his face, earning him a disgruntled croak. Neville continued to ramble compliments and quite a few kisses onto the toad, that Harry felt was basking in the attention.

“ Again I’m S-” Harry was interrupted by Neville who had thrown his arms around Harry, a once again disgruntled Trevor trapped in Neville’s hand near Harry’s ear.

“Thank you, thank you thank you.” Neville repeated letting go of Harry to once again clinging Trevor to his chest. Harry,still surprised by the hug, merely smiled. “ Come on let’s go get to the boats.” Neville reached out with his free hand and grabbed Harry’s sleeve, pulling him to the boats. 

Harry was thankful to see that Theo and Blaise had not left yet, and were one of the last few students on the shore line. They were both quietly arguing, which ended abruptly as Theo smugly pointed at Harry and Neville. “Come on Neville, let’s go there”Harry took control and brought a hesitant Neville to his other friends.He composed himself before introducing everyone. “ Heir Longbottom, may I introduce Heir Theordore Nott-” Theo bowed his head his arm at his chest- “and Mister Blaise Zabini-” Who deepened his bow. Heir Nott, Mister Zabini, may I introduce my Godsibling, Heir Neville Longbottom.”

“ Harry, that’s not -” Blaise began but was stopped when Theo elbowed him in the ribs. Harry knew what he was going to say but was happy that Theo had put a stop to it. Neville bowed to the two other boys, and they each climbed into the small boat, Theo helping Harry and Balise helping Neville. A polite conversation had started between Neville and Theo, with Blaise just watching everything and Harry content to have the three of them get along. It wasn’t long before Blaise had joined in the conversation, and somehow the conversation ahad turned to Neville describing his manor in heavy detail, making Harry fear that Blaise was somehow planning to rob Longbottom Manor, because who needed to know about all the possible entrances and exits besides a thief? Neville offered to let the boys call him by his first name, claiming that since Harry is his godbrother, they would most likely be seeing a lot of each other. The others agreed and Harry took the moment to tell Neville he had a great familiar in Trevor, causing a new conversation on how amazing it was that Harry could feel a Familial bond, and how Neville’s Gran always claimed a toad was just not worth the bother, always denying Neville’s claims that he felt connected to Trevor. Harry was finding himself unable to hold Lady Longbottom in a positive light. 

It was only the sight of Hogwarts above them that halted all conversations. It was the magic for Harry that had him instantly stop talking. Yes the view was breathtaking, with its glowing windows being reflected in the lake, and the tall towers being silhouetted against the stars and moon in the sky. But when the magic of Hogwarts wards passed over Harry, he couldn’t even think. It was so much and all encompassing him, like the best hug Harry had ever felt. It was like his magic just connected to Hogwarts’ and he was overwhelmed by the feelings the clearly sentient castle was emparting on him. Thankfully it lasted only a moment. There was still a drum of energy coursing through Harry but it was much more manageable. Harry found it comforting, and when he looked at the others on the boat, and asked them if they felt it, he was a bit selfish in his happiness at the fact that it was only Theo who claimed to feel a bit of magic from the school. This feeling was all his, and he was more than happy to explain to Blaise and Neville the connection of magic Harry had with Hogwarts.

All too soon they were on the front steps of the Castle, Hagrid passing them along to a rather stern older woman dressed almost purely in tartan. 

“Well children, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Deputy Headmistress Minvera McGonnagall, and shall also be your Transfiguration professor for the next seven years. For a select few of you to be placed in Gryffindor, I shall also be your Head of House.” She nodded to the students. “ In just a moment, we shall be entering the Great Hall. It is where your meals shall be served during your time with us, as well as any major events that should take place here at Hogwarts, like tonight for example. In front of the faculty and the other students here, you all shall be sorted into your new Houses. These Houses are to be like your family while you are here. It is pertinent you be on your best behaviour tonight and moving forward as well. Any questions? No, then follow me please. Form a line in pairs please.”

Neville and Harry partnered up, with Theo and Blaise in front of them. “ I hope I end up in Gryffindor, otherwise Gran will have a cow” Neville muttered. “Both mum and dad were Gryffindors and she already claims I am barely their son as it is.”

Harry was finding less and less redeeming qualities for Lady Longbottom. “ Neville, would you be happy there though? From my research, Gryffindor tends to be loud, outgoing and, don’t take this wrong Neville, I just don’t see you fitting in there.” Harry patted his shoulder.” Seven years is a long time, and you don’t want to have to dread every moment of it right?” Neville only shook his head in defeat. “ Neville, look at me. This is your life, your education. Go where you can be happy and relaxed, not where you will constantly have to fight yourself to fit in.”

“ But isn’t that that brave thing to do? To always be fighting” Nevilled practically demanded.

“ It’s also the stupid thing to do. I won’t be in Gryffindor because my parents were Neville. They aren’t me, and as much I love and honour them, I feel like being in the House I belong in would make them prouder of me than to follow them because it was easier. Would your parents, not your Gran, your parents want you to follow them if it was clear you belonged somewhere more suited for you?” Harry argued back. Neville soon became quiet and Harry could only hope he had done the right thing. 

Whatever else Harry had wanted to say, had been halted as soon as they stepped into the Great Hall. For however many times today, Harry found himself at a loss for words again at the sight before him. Four long tables teamed with students, with each table covered with empty platters and dishes. At the far end a shorter table rested, with the faculty sitting down behind it. Candles of many sizes floated above the tables illuminating the Hall in a beautifully warm glow. But it was the ceiling that had entrapped Harry, and in fact most of the other first years attention. For above their heads was a beautiful display of magic, in the form of the night sky. Clouds and stars floated in a lovely midnight blue sky, with a bright full moon glowing in the center.

“ It’s been charmed to show the outside sky.” Bossy Girl lectured. “ I read about it in  _ Hogwarts: A History _ .” She started to explain more about where she read, clearly believing only she had read the book. When Blaise had stopped her mid sentence.

“Thank you, I would never have known it was magic that put it there. I thought perhaps there was a massive whole in the ceiling.” Earning a chuckle from the first years around him, including Harry was happy to note, Neville. Bossy Girl was glaring at Blaise and was about to start up an argument when Professor McGonnagall started speaking.

“If you are perhaps done, might we start the sorting?” Her stern gaze stopping the last of the chuckles. “ Now in just a moment I shall be calling you one by one in alphabetical order. Once called you shall walk up and sit on the stool with the Sorting Hat on your head. It is the hat that shall speak within your mind to decide where you shall spend the next seven years. Will you be sorted into Ravenclaw, where intelligence and wisdom is most admired?” A loud cheer from the students roved in blue. “ Perhaps to the Hufflepuffs you may go, where they respect loyalty and fair play?” Clapping and cheers sprouted from the Hufflepuffs. “ Or maybe you find yourself brave and chivalrous, claiming Gryffindor as your own?” Literal roars rang out from the cheering at Gryffindor table. “ Finally, do you hold ambitions in your heart and cunning in your head? Then Slytherin is the House for you” Polite clapping from the House of Green. “ In just a moment we shall find out. In fact let us begin now. Abbott Hannah!”

A small blonde haired girl found herself to be the first one. She sat down hesitantly, and Professor McGonnagall rested the Hat on her head. Harry looked on with interest, but soon turned away when nothing happened but a few whispers from the girl. It took but a moment before the Hat yelled in a rough voice “ Hufflepuff” and the girl’s robes shimmered before the accents turned yellow. She then hopped off the stool and ran to sit at her new table, with the entire school cheering, Hufflepuffs being the loudest.

Several names were called out, and Harry only passively paid attention. Instead he let his mind wander to his own sorting adn to that of his friends. He honestly hoped that Neville wouldn’t end up in Gryffindor. He knew it would do much to damage the boy, he’d make a good Hufflepuff, and they would take care of him. Theo would most likely end up in Ravenclaw. He was too brilliant to not end up there. Not to mention he fit the criteria of what was apparently Hogwarts ideals of the House. Blaise however was an enigma. He was brilliant as well and would take to Ravenclaw like a fish to water, however he would absolutely flourish in Slytherin. Harry was not afraid to admit that it would help his plans to have an ‘ in’ with the Slytherins, and who better than to have the fast talking Blaise? He wasn’t too concerned with anyone else's Sorting, and was more than content to just people-watch. He did however notice when it came to two boys being sent to Ravenclaw back to back, A Terry Boot, followed by a Micheal Corner. Then a few more Hufflepuffs, a Gryffindor and then it was suddenly Bossy Girl’s turn.

“Hermione Granger!” Professor McGonagall announced. Harry watched as the girl walked up like she was collecting an award, smiling at Professor McGonagall, and sitting down promptly staring out over the crowd in front of her. It must have taken a turn against her though, because her smile fell off almost immediately and she could be heard whispering ‘no’ and ‘i refuse’ multiple times. But it looks like the Hat got his way because Granger’s face had formed a rather strong scowl.

“Slytherin!” The Hat proclaimed loudly. Granger refused to get off the stool at first, until Professor McGonagall whispered something to her. She then rose up arms crossed and slowly made her way to the Slytherin Table, sitting as far away from anyone else as she could. There was a weak attempt at applause all around the room for her, that faded into nothing as she actually started glaring around the room. Soon the next name was called, and everyone happily moved the attention from the angry girl.

“Pure ambition from that girl.” Theo muttered, earning a nod from Harry. “We have only known her for what thirty minutes give or take? And we both agree she has nothing of Gryffindor in her? I would have said Ravenclaw if anything.”

Harry quieted Theo as he heard Neville be called up. THe boy was shivering and even stumbled on the steps as he made his way to the stool, earning him a laugh from Heir Malfoy and the girl beside him, both instantly stopping at the glare they received from Harry, with Blaise muttering about the sudden appearance of the ‘ Snape Glare’ from Harry.It was another long Sorting, but a much more silent one than Granger’s had been, with Neville biting his lip and wringing out his fingers. “Hufflepuff!” the Hat shouted, and it was clear that Neville was not expecting it. He looked around to find Harry in the crowd, who only smiled at him and clapped as loudly as he could. Neville seemed to steady himself and smiled before he went to sit among all the new Hufflepuffs. 

After just another name, it was now Heir Malfoy’s turn. Harry hadn’t taken time to even think of what House he would be in, and found he wouldn’t have any now as the Hat rested on Heir Malfoy’s head for a short time, before bellowing “Slytherin.” Unlike Granger’s walk towards the House of Green, Heir Malfoy’s was one of great applause, mostly from the Slytherins themselves, and a massive content smile on the Heir’s face.

“Theordore Nott” Bringing Harry’s attention away from Heir Malfoy’s smug face. Theo took a deep breath before bounding up to the stool. His poke face was rather strong until the very last minute before he looked down sadly at Harry just before the Hat Yelled ‘Slytherin’. It took a rather stunned Harry a few seconds to clap along with everyone else, a weak smile on his face, his only attempt to let Theo know he would be okay. Theo nodded and found his way to join the other Slytherins with Heir Malfoy patting him on the back. Several more names were called before a new name startled Harry out of his thoughts. 

“Aiden Potter!” Professor McGonagall was also surprised as she looked back at the list after to confirm it with herself. Mentions of ‘Potter’ and “wasn’t the Boy-Who-Lived named Harry” found themselves floating about the Great Hall, as the boy who Harry knew he recognized earlier practically skipped up the stairs clearly smiling and not caring about the uproar his name had created. Harry’s jaw had hit the floor, as Blaise leaned in. “ I kind of suspected he was related to you. But obviously they didn’t introduce themselves to you.” Harry only shook his head, clearing his face, picking up that Blaise also meant the girl as well, who was now smuggly looking at Harry. Openly being the Heir Apparent to House Potter, it was expected that any fellow members of House Potter were meant to formally introduce themselves to him almost immediately. It was a rather strong insult, meaning that they did not support his claim to the Heirship, and now the laughter that came from the girl and Heir Malfoy made sense. No doubt it would spread to the other Heirs within the week. Harry let it go though, the damage was done and he was more than content to wait for his moment to fix it. Apparently Aiden was having a lovely conversation with the Hat and it was bordering on a hat stall when the Hat bellowed ‘Hufflepuff.” Aiden got up and happily walked over to the House of Yellow sitting and chatting away with the other students.

“Bethany Potter!” Came the next name, once again causing a small uproar, but at least this time Harry was prepared. When she waltzed up to the stool like she owned the place, and turned a smirk down at Harry, he merely raised an eyebrow at her, before actively turning his attention to pretend to have a conversation with Blaise. Blaise was barely holding in a laugh, but played along. She wanted his attention, and Harry had no intentions of giving it. Was it petty? Probably. Did it work in his favour? Definitely. And when the Hat proclaimed her the newest Slytherin, Harry ignored her in favour of talking to Blaise. Now, when everyone was talking about the snuff Aiden and Bethany had given Harry, they would also talk about Harry’s apparent uncaring of Bethany. Blaise could barely contain his laughter as he described her pouting and glaring at Harry the entire way to the Slytherins.

“Her actions just basically nullified the snuff against you. Several Heirs will most likely come your way this week, who would have waited longer before.” Blaise advised him. Harry only nodded his head continuing his act of nonchalance. But then it was his turn.

“Harry Potter!” Professor looked relieved that there were not any other Potters. He smiled at her as she placed the Hat on his head, and suddenly the room became silenced much to Harry’s amazement.

‘ _ Yes, I see oh, how I see. Heir Potter-Black-Gaunt-Slytherin-Gryffindor- Peverell. An Honour if I do say so myself.’  _ The Hat projected right into Harry’s head. ‘ _ A mouthful if I ever heard one before, I can see why you only introduce yourself as Heir Potter. Yes, a rather great mind.’ _

_ ‘Thank you.’  _ Harry politely thought back, mildly concerned with the sentient head exploring his mind.

‘ _ Don’t concern yourself with that Heir Potter. It is not really the mind that I explore, but your emotions so to speak. And I merely graze your mind. See right there. That’s some powerful ambition floating around. Restore the Honour to not one but six different Families? A perchance for leadership and already you follow the true Ideals of what it means to be a Lord. Not to mention a cousin to grow along with, and a friend already there? You’d do well in Slytherin. Oh but there, look, such Loyalty to your friends even ones you made just tonight? Not to mention your plans will need a lot of patience and hardwork. Hufflepuff would help you build friendships that would aid you. No? You would end up with your ‘Godsibling’ and even that new cousin of yours. Quite a nice lad by the way, you could not go wrong there.”  _ Harry shook his head and replied negatively to both options he knew where he wanted to go.  _ ‘Well fine then, let’s take a look deeper shall we? Oh yes, you have quite a strong grasp on your morals. Are rather brave in the face of adversity. Such confidence. You would do well there, following in your parents footsteps. You could very well make yourself the leader of Gryffindor.’ _

_ ‘None of those are where I wish to be.”  _ Harry denied. “ _ Perhaps as I grow as a person those Houses might fit me more. BUt for now only one is best’ _

_ Fine, let us talk about the House you are intent on claiming your own. Ah yes, you have a strong will to be your own person. That seems to be why you are so against joining the other three Houses because of a connection. And yes you prise knowing things above many other things. I do not doubt your intelligence either. Hmm yes, you would fit in all the Houses, but maybe you are correct that you belong in Ravenclaw!. _

The last word yelled out to the school. Harry smiled and thanked the Hat before walking to the Ravenclaws, sitting besides the three other first year boys, Terry Boot, Micheal Corner, and Anthony Goldstein, Sharing a nod with the first to who followed the tradition, and turned to Goldstein who was a muggleborn. Harry had fully intended to just say hi to him, but was pleasantly surprised when he dipped his head lowly to Harry. 

“He noticed us doing it to others at the table and asked about it.” Boot began. Harry knew him to not be the Heir, that being his eldest sister who had graduated a year before. “That’s us Ravenclaws, spreading knowledge.” Harry found himself smiling. “Also apologizes for not fully bowing Heir Potter, but this isn’t exactly the best place for it.”

“It’s quite alright.” Harry paused, “ Wait, why would you bow fully to me? Isn’t a deep dip of the head enough?” Earning him a laugh from both of the pure bloods there. Goldstein looked just as confused as Harry, but that wasn’t saying much.

“Oh you're serious.” Heir Corner stated. “ Heir Potter, even if we ignore the fact that it was you and your Family’s great sacrifice that saved the British Magical World from the hands of the Dark Lord, The Potters are basically royalty. Your family is one of three that have had a seat on the Wizengamot since it’s inception. It is only now, for the first time in history, that a Potter does not sit during the sessions, and that is only because you are not of age.”

“I didn’t know that. It was only a few years ago that I even learned about the Wizarding World. The Potter Grimoire is too expansive for me to have read all of it. So I am sure that fact is written down in it.” Harry explained earning nods of understanding from the two boys.

“Potter Grimoire, what’s that?” Goldstein asked.

One of the first year girls leaned over to explain, Mandy Brocklehurst if Harry remembered correctly, along with the other two girls, both of whom had just been sorted and Harry missed their names. “A Grimoire is a Family’s Spell book so to speak. You see after a Family has been around for a while, their magic takes a form of sentience. The Lord of the Family of the time then takes that magic and creates the Family Grimoire. Using it’s own magic it begins to annotate a history of the Family, forever expanding unless the Family dies out, then it too just disappears.”

“Lords, Heirs, and their spouses also add to the Family Grimoires. Any spells or rituals they create or come across are simply added into it. I found that a few of my relatives even used the Potter Grimoire as a journal.” Harry added. “ The Potter Grimoire contains my Family history and our Traditions as well.”

“ Oh Cool, so can I see it?” Goldstein asked, unaware of the faux pas he had made. But Harry did not hold it against him.

“I’m afraid not Goldstein. The Family Grimoire can only be accessed by the Lord, Heir and their Spouses. Even other Potter’s do not have access to the Grimoire without the presence of one such person.” Goldstein reddened a bit before apologizing which Harry just waved away. The three girls took the silence to formally introduce themselves to Harry. None of them were Heirs, but were all from pureblood Families across Britain and followed the old Traditions. Harry knew Mandy Brocklehurst’s name, however Lisa Turpinand Padma Patil, were both new ,with Harry realizing that the Indian girl had a twin sister, to whom Patil pointed out, was sitting in Gryffindor.

A hand on Harry’s shoulder had him almost freak out causing the others to laugh.

“ Well Hardwin, it looks like it will be just you and me in Ravenclaw, that traitorous Nott having abandoned us to the snake.” A rather smug Blaise exclaimed sitting down besides Harry. This earned another round of head dippings and introductions as Blaise was the last to sit down.

“Blaise, what are you doing here? You belong in green.” Harry practically beaming at being found wrong. 

“For shame young Harding! Following too closely with stereotypes. Weren’t you the one who claimed we were sorted too early? That it was too close minded to place us in a House based on how we are as children.” His false hurt, making Harry laugh. “No my friend, you are far too interesting to leave on your own.” Harry found himself unable to stop laughing at Blaise. He only stopped as it seemed the Headmaster was finally going to speak. Instead he muttered a few nonsensical words with a massive smile, claiming everyone must be hungry, and waved his wand in the air, apparently causing all of the food to appear on the platters before them. Harry and the others soon dug in, with Harry enjoying everything on his plate. He took a moment to look up to Sev, who met his eyes and gave him a slight smile that he quickly hid behind his goblet. During the feast conversation sprung up between the first years, and Harry formerly granted everyone the right to use his first name. Claiming it was much easier, and jokingly stating he would rescind the offer from any of them at will. It earned a row of chuckles and each of them offered their first names in return, except Blaise, to whom Harry had rescinded his permission after Blaise called him ‘Hartford’, ‘Harley’ and ‘Harmon’ in one sentence.

And just like magic all the food and scraps disappeared off the table, signifying the Feast was over.

Headmaster Dumblerdore rose up and began his speech, to which Harry felt was rather long winded and unnecessary. However he did take note of how the Forbidden Forest was forbidden, surprise surprise, and also how an entire floor of the school, more specifically the entire third floor was out of bounds. Harry could only wonder what they would use to block it off. He noted the Weasley Twins talking animatedly amongst themselves after that and placed a bet with Blaise about how they would get caught on the Third Floor within the week. Soon the entire first years group had weighed in and bets were being counted out and held by Heir Corner who was considered to be the ‘banker’ so to speak. Once the Headmaster had finished speaking he clapped his hands at the students and bid them a good night before passing a glance over to Harry, a glimmer in his eye. Prefects from each table rose up with the Fifth Year Ravenclaw ones having the First Years follow them. Harry thought this to be a bit redundant as the entire House was heading to the dorms, and he wasn’t sure why they had to specifically follow two upperclassmen instead of just moving with the entire House. He said as much to Blaise who only laughed in response, much to his annoyance.They were escorted to up a tower where a large door stood, a Raven’s head sticking out of it’s center.

“ Our House does not use a password like the others, instead it asks a riddle you must answer to enter. Tonight however the Raven has forgone the riddle to allow us entry” The female Prefect with dark hair stated.

“That sounds incredubly stupid, especially for the House that is supposed to respect intelligence.” Harry muttered to Blaise who agreed. He could see that they would both be heavily warding their possessions as soon as they could. 

The common room was quite cozy. Deep blues everywhere with light wooden furniture. There were a rather large number of tables scattered throughout the room, and several fireplaces as well, each surrounded by blue couches and seats. Large moving stained glass windows rose up against one wall, Harry gave pause to how a square room rested in the center of a round tower, but prefered to just accept the answer of magic and moved on.

It was the last wall that caught Harry’s attention. It was floor to ceiling shelves filled with books, books that flew out of their shelves and rearranged themselves and when Harry asked where the ladder was to reach the higher books, a passing Ravenclaw paused to demonstrate. She walked to the bookshelves, and raised a foot as if to step up a staircase, where a book immediately took its place, followed quickly by another each book forming a staircase that raised the Ravenclaw higher and higher, and as she turned around to climbed down the books turned around as well, and once at the bottom she took a deep bow to the applause of the First years, and a few other upper years. Harry had reached out to grab one the books that had earlier played the part of a staircase. He laughed when he saw it was actually an architecture book about magical staircases.

The two prefects then divided the First Years by gender and escorted them up two separate staircases leading to their dorms. Harry was happy to note that it was two to a dorm and Blaise and himself would be sharing one. The dorms were rather simple, having two full sized beds with blue canopies, two desks with matching chairs. Their trunks were placed at the foot of their beds, and Hedwig’s cage had been hung off a large hook by the window. He already heard the knocking on the window confirming she was there and he rushed over to the window to let her in. She landed on his shoulder and preened his hair, hooting a greeting to him and Blaise, before flying and settling herself on the canopy of Harry’s bed, ignoring her cage. Harry continued to explore the room and found that they had a shared bathroom attached to their rooms. When he was done exploring the bathroom, Harry opened his trunk to change and get Saffron out of her compartment, she rather abruptly jumped out of Harry’s hands though and explored her new home as well.

A knock on their door had Harry and Blaise both pause, before Blaise went to open it, moving a side though as Headmaster Dumbdore, and the four Heads of Houses entered their room. Professor McGonagall thanking Blaise for letting them in. The Headmaster made his way over to Harry, with Professor McGonagall step behind him on his left, and Sev taking the position to his right. Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, and Professor Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff both stood back warm smiles on both their faces.

“ My dear boy.” Headmaster Dumbledore started looking directly at Harry, who found himself looking directly at the man’s nose, knowing from Sev to never look the elder man in the eyes. “It seems that the Wards have picked up that a student has attempted to smuggle in a rather dangerous creature into her halls.” His gaze lingering on Harry and ignoring Blaise. “I have been able to triangulate on the creature and have found it to be located in this dorm to be exact.”

Harry decided he didn’t want to play the Headmaster’s game fairly. “ Gosh Headmaster, I had no idea Hedwig was that dangerous.” A surprise cough from Sev almost had Harry break character. “ The letter from Professor McGonagall here, stated that owls were allowed. Does that mean she needs to stay in the Owlery? I’m sorry I’ll just open the window and send her there.” He made to go to the window, however Hedwig only pulled herself deeper in her spot.

“My boy I do not mean your owl, and I believe we both know what I am talking about. The wards had warned of a highly venomous snake.” The headmaster stated, pulling out his wand, and giving it a wave. Saffron flew out from under the bed, belining for the Headmaster’s outstretched hand. As she passed Harry though, the boy reached over and caught her out of the air, canceling the Headmaster’s spell. “My boy, I really must insist that you hand that snake over this instant, It is a highly dangerous animal and I simply cannot allow it to stay here.”

“I think not Headmaster, as you should already be aware seeing as Professor Snape does not seem like the man who enjoys his time wasted.” Said man was currently glaring daggers at the back of the Headmaster’s head. “ Professor is well aware that I have formed a Familial Bond with Saffron, and based off of the Hogwarts Charter she is allowed to be here with me, provided the school has access to the antivenom countering her fangs. And as Professor Snape had taken a sample of her venom when he was with me in Diagon AlleyI can safely say he has created plenty of antivenom.” Sev nodded in agreement, to which only the other Heads of Houses saw as the Headmaster’s full attention was still on Harry. “Furthermore I would expect nothing less than for Professor Snape to have already informed you as to my bond in hopes of preparing properly for the coming school year?”

“Be that as it may my boy, I cannot take just your word on this, and I hope with your permission that a spell may be cast to confirm your story?” Headmaster Dumbledore asked, his wand at the ready.

Harry could see that the Headmaster had back him in a corner. He hated to be called a liar, but if he refused the spell the Headmaster could justify whatever actions he would take, including the removal of Saffron, and that just would not do. Harry would follow her. An idea popped into his head right before he was going to accept. “Very well I will permit the spell, IF it is performed by Professor Flitwick.” His response was a surprise to the Professors, with Sev giving him a small nod in respect to his quick thinking. “ As the spell is in fact a charm, Professor Flitwick is probably the best two perform it no? After all, we only want to have a one hundred percent correct reading.” He could see the slight stiffening of Headmaster Dumbledore’s shoulders, as he found himself forced to agree, thus thwarting whatever plans he had.

“An Honour Heir Potter,” The short man greeted Harry. “ I had hopes to formally meet you and young Mr. Zabini over there like I do with all my First Years tomorrow morning, but it seems that was not meant to be. Now hold still this shall only take a quick flick of my wand.” He performed the spell in seconds which confirmed the Familial Bond to him, however Professor Flitwick looked at it with a confused look, but quickly changed his face before turning to the Headmaster and acknowledging the bond.

“Well my boy. I hope you could understand a Headmaster's concern. I must put the health of all the student’s here above the whims of just one. Now tomorrow I think it is prudent to go over more safety protocols for you and  _ Saffron _ .” His emphasis on her name confused Harry.” But it is rather late and I rather suspect we are all tired. So My boy, Mister Zabini, I bid you both sweet dreams.” He ushered the other Professors out of the room. Sev lagged behind to quickly hug Harry, forgetting Balise was there, only a moment before he rushed out.

“Wow, so that was a lot.” Blaise muttered, climbing into his bed. “ Where should we even begin trying to unravel all that just happened?”

“Tomorrow please.” Harry begged exhausted, he released Saffron who promised to find her way back into her compartment in the trunk after she finished checking out the room. He threw himself onto his bed, dragging the blankets over his body. “Tomorrow Blaise, please.”

“ Fine, fine.” Blaise conceded. “ Just one thing, Did Professor Snape just hug you?” Harry screamed into his pillow.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I know Ron was not included in the sortting. Honestly he ends up Gryffindor. Big whoop. On a side note. Yay to twin Potters.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Harry promptly at five the next morning. Hedwig was cooing in her sleep above his head in the canopy, and Saffron had squirmed her way up onto the bed and was nestled in the side of his neck, stealing his heat. Blaise was snoring quietly, which Harry found hilarious that he wasn’t even silent in his sleep. Harry leaned over to put his glasses on, and climbed out of his bed. Saffron hissed he discomfort before she found the warm spot Harry left, and settled back in to sleep. He found a pair of slippers with the Ravenclaw House emblem on them and put them on, savoring the warmth from the warming charms on them. Harry tiptoed his way to his chest, and searched for a few things. First he grabbed the Potter Grimoire, who sent a spark of magic as a greeting, secondly he grabbed the Peverell Grimoire, which was still heavily asleep, and finally he took out his connected journal. Setting the two Grimoires down at the foot of his bed, Harry slid back under the covers, setting up his pillows so he could sit up against the headboard, the journal opened on his lap.

He flicked his hand and formed a couple lovely blue Wisps to float above his head for light, before closing his curtains so as to not bother Blaise. He opened the journal and hesitated only a moment before writing into it.

_ ‘Aggie, are you awake?’  _ Harry wrote down. It took only a moment for a response.

‘ _ Dearie, It is nearly quarter past five in the morning, and I am an old lady.’  _ Aggie began. ‘ _ Of course I am awake. Now, how are you Dearie? It’s far too early for you youngin’ to be awake. Did you enjoy the train ride? Did you eat enough? I heard the Welcoming Feast has the best food served. Have you made any new friends? Tell me everything!’ _

Harry could only laugh in response, Aggie was a rather quiet person, however when she wrote to him, it was nearly no stop.  _ ‘I’m doing good Aggie, just couldn’t sleep any longer. Nerves I guess. I don’t need a calming draught yet though. The train ride was amazing. THe view of the countryside flying by out the window was just breathtaking. I’ve met a couple of new people, so hopefully I can make some new friends.’  _ Harry went into detail about everyone he had met, spending quite a bit of time talking about the Weasley Twins, and Neville. He also mentioned his problems with Granger and his Cousins. Aggie could always tell when Harry was avoiding something even in writing, and she liked to have the whole picture, both the good and the bad, when they talked. 

‘ _ Well Dearie, that girl seems like a pain. But don’t burn bridges. You never know what kind of wisdom you could earn from an unlikely source. As for your new Cousins, that’s a shame. Clearly this Bethany is going to cause you trouble, but if Aiden is as warm and bubbly as you’ve come to see, maybe you can reach out to him?’ _

_ ‘I’m not too sure how that’d work out Aggie. She seems to have her brother under her thumb. Unfortunately I can’t reach out to either of them without weakening myself in the eyes of the other Traditionalists here. It’s just so frustrating Aggie. Actual blood relatives, and they don’t even want to know me!’  _ Tears had cut into Harry’s vision, and he angrily wiped them away. Why did every cousin Harry seem to hate him? __

‘ _ I know it’s hard Dearie, I’m sorry. I can only hope that they change their tune as they come to see the real you. It’s only the first night. Keep your head up, Dearie.’  _ They shifted the conversation over to what Aggie was doing, where she informed him that she had taken the next several days off so that she could be available for Harry using the journals. After nearly an hour, Harry’s hand started to ache, he told Aggie as much.

‘ _ That’s fine Dearie, it’s time for me to feed myself and the kitties anyways.’ _

_ Then go eat Aggie, breakfast isn’t served here until after 6:30. So I’m going to take my time getting ready. Blaise isn’t awake yet, and that means I can enjoy the bathroom we share. By the way, make sure you collect your three galleons from Sev. He was wrong about Theo’s, Blaise’s and my sortings, so don’t let him short change you.’ _

_ ‘That man, it’s like he doesn't even know you kids. Take care of yourself Dearie. I Love you’ _

Harry’s heart arched something fierce at that last sentence. A good pain though. And he quickly wrote out that he loved her too, before closing up the journal and holding it to his chest. He gave it a few more moments before sliding it under his pillow. He then collected his supplies and found himself taking a long hot shower and cleaning himself up. Blaise was just waking up as Harry left the bathroom, fully cleaned and ready to get dressed. Hedwig was back in her cage hooting a greeting at Harry before demanding the window be opened for her. Harry obliged, giving her a fond pet and then watching her soar off towards the Owlery.

Blaise had taken the time to toddle over to the bathroom, and Harry finished getting dressed, finding himself having to re-tie his new Ravenclaw tie a few times before he deemed it just right. By then Blaise had plenty of time to finish up in the bathroom and was now comparing two separate sets of robes, and Harry could not find any actual difference between them.

“Alright Granny, let’s see what you got for me in the way of wards.” He rubbed the binding before opening it up. Just like magic, the Grimoire opened up to a section that Harry instantly wanted, surprising him though because it wasn’t a list of spells or charms but rather an anecdote from a former Heir. Heir Selina Potter to be precise. Harry had already read a few stories from her before. He felt a connection to her because she began writing in the Grimoire at the age of eleven like him. From what he had learned, she was actually made Heir by her much older brother, who had not had as of her writings been unable to father a child with his wife. Harry secretly hoped that he did, with the rather loose evidence that she did not write in the Grimoire as a Lord. She never gave her brother’s name though, and it seems ‘Selina’ was a rather popular name from Potter daughters, and it was difficult to narrow her down in the Family Lineage. 

He found himself laughing at her ranting over her roommate’s Kneazle. It seemed that the ‘blasted furball’ would constantly ruin all of Selina’s charmwork. Thankfully, it was apparent that Selina had already took Granny Grimoire apart looking for every ward and repelling charm she could find and test, that she had actually written a well thought out review of them, marking the ones that worked and the ones that failed ‘spectacularly’ as she claimed everything she did was spectacular. Harry double checked all her notes, before attempting several of her tests on his stuff. Several did not work for him, as he realized he didn’t have enough knowledge of them, and not enough power for others. But after nearly ten minutes and a lot of work, Harry was content with the amount of protections on his belongings.

He turned his attention to see if Blaise was ready to go to the Great Hall, when he was strcuk dumb by the sheer magic flowing around the othe boy and his possessions. Thankfully it only lasted a moment before Blaise finished his chanting and the magic settled. Harry was impressed by the strength of the warding around Blaise’s things.

“ Want to test which one of us did a better job?” Blaise smirked.

“Maybe later.” Harry laughed, knowing that while his wards were most likely above what a First Year should have accomplished, Blaise’s was on a different level. It was like trying to compare apples to oranges, and Harry would rather be eating them instead of discussing them. He ran over to his bed, and rudely, at least according to Saffron, plucked the snake from his bed, letting her wrap around his neck under the cover of his robes collar. Together they followed a few of the upperclassmen down to the Great Hall. Harry was more than a little bit relieved in knowing that classes didn’t actually start for another three days, giving him, hopefully, enough time to explore and memorize the halls.

Harry was pleased to see that the Hall was mostly empty, however he did note that it looked like the entirety of Slytherin was already there including Theo, and as soon as he saw Harry and Blaise, he said something to Heir Draco and a few other the other slytherins before making his way to sit down next to them.

“Good morning.” He greeted them both, “DId you guys sleep well?”

“ Like an angel”

“Like a baby.” Both Blaise and Harry responded at the same time, causing the trio to laugh.

“Like an angel baby.” Blaise decided. “ It’s just Harlan and I in our dorm.”

“Ugh, you guys are lucky.” Theo muttered. “ Unfortunately the Slytherin dorms are four to a room, and it just so happens there are only four of us. Draco spent most of the night telling us ‘ My dad will hear about this’ because he believes he’s special and deserves his own room. Greg snores as loud as the Hogwarts Express, and thankfully Vincent is quiet, he just sleep walks.”

“Blaise snores too.” Harry revealed laughing at Theo’s misfortune. Blaise only muttered that he does not snore before pointedly ignoring Harry for his slight against him. Theo and Harry just laughed and turned the conversation to what their common rooms and dorms look like. Harry was amazed that an entire wall of the Slytherin Common Room was made of glass and viewed directly into the lake. Theo went on to explain that it’s too dark to actually see anything unless they are up close, but did point out that he claims a mermaid waved to him. It didn’t take Blaise long to join in the conversation apparently forgiving Harry. Soon the other Ravenclaw FIrst Years made their way to the Great Hall and sat down around the trio. Terry commented on Theo being there, but Harry pointed out that the Hogwarts Charter only demands students sit with their Houses during events and Feasts, before they all just nodded and let it go.

Soon enough Harry saw Neville walking in, and he called him over. He was a bit surprised to see Aiden following after him though. When they got to the table Neville greeted Harry, and Harry introduced him to the rest of the Ravenclaws. Aiden had stood back and was shuffling on his feet. Neville seemed to notice, and was about to introduce him to the table, when Aiden’s sister came over and dragged her twin over to the Slytherin table, a sneer on her face when she looked at Harry.

“ I’m sorry Harry. We’re roommates, and we kind of bonded last night. Apparently Aiden is really into reptiles, and we spent most of the night discussing Trevor.” Neville explained. “ I forgot he’s your cousin.”

“Neville, I’m not upset or worried. You don’t need to ignore him because I tell you too. I’m not about to control who your friends are.” Harry patted Neville on the back before turning back to the group, and realized they were all watching his reaction. Harry just sighed, and started another topic in hopes they would just let it go. It was a Potter matter and it would be figured out eventually. A few more First years from other Houses came over as well, including Padma’s twin, Parvati, who bowed heavily to Harry, which earned a loud scoff from Granger as she had also come to the table.

“Are we starting a study group?” She demanded thrusting herself on the bench between Blaise and Harry, nearly knocking Blaise’s cup out of his hands. She had several large tombs in her hands and loudly dropped them on the table, causing Harry to wince at their mistreatment.

“Granger, what a pleasant surprise. No, we are not starting a study group, seeing as we have not received our schedules yet, and also considering classes do not begin for another three days.” Blaise responded, fixing himself another cup of tea, lazily swirling it with a silver spoon. Harry didn't know where it came from seeing as all the utensils were old and worn.

“ It’s never too early to prepare for these kinds of things!” Her indignant scratch hurting Harry’s ears. “ What about you Harry, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind starting a study group with me and a few other muggleborns I’ve met. It seems we are all in the same boat and lacking in our magical education.” A few of his fellow Ravenclaws took the opportunity to get away, citing they didn’t need the extra help at the moment. Blaise had also been attempting to vanish, but Theo had yanked him back down to his seat, much to Harry’s relief. Neville was just awkwardly sitting to the side. It was clear he didn’t want to be near the bossy girl, but he also didn’t want to leave Harry. 

Harry took in a deep breath, before responding, knowing this wasn’t going to end well at all. “Thank you Granger for the most generous offer-” A snort from Blaise “- But I am not actually behind in my magical education as you put it.” He stressed her name hoping she would get the hint. 

“Harry-” Apparently not “- it’s common knowledge that you were raised by your muggle relatives. There is no shame in admitting you need help.” She thrust one of her books in front of him, sliding his plate of food out of the way. “Now I think the most important thing we should start off with is  _ Hogwarts: A History.  _ It explains everything there is to know about Hogwarts, obviously, including a rather descriptive explanation of where all the classrooms are in relation to the dorms and the Great Hall.” She took the time to turn the copy in front of Harry to the page that proved this, and Harry was quite upset to note that it was in fact a written description and not a map. “Harry, you're not paying attention,” adding emphasis by jabbing her pointer finger at the paragraph she was loudly reading from. Neville was getting more and more ansty as she raised her voice, meanwhile Theo and Blaise were covering their mouths trying to hide their laughter. “Now it says here the best way to get to the dungeons from the Great Hall is to up the first stairs, wait for it to move then go back down it after it has settled. Apparently there is a light blue tapestry on the left wall. If it’s not there or it's on the right, we went down the wrong stairs.”

She continued to ramble on and on, switching up her route suddenly to go from the Gryffindor Tower ( none of them were Gryffindors, why would they be starting there?) to go to the Charm classroom. Before giving a detailed route from the Slytherin Dorms to the Great Hall. Harry patience was wearing thin.

“Granger!” Harry had found himself shouting, earning more of an audience than he wanted. “Granger,” more quietly, “While I am grateful you are taking time to try and help me, I don’t need it.”

“Harry, you don’t need to be ashamed of getting help when you need it.” Granger completely ignored his words again.

“No Granger, It is not that I can’t admit I need help. It’s that I do not want yours. Now, I have not formally given you the right to my first name, and I had hoped you would pick up on the fact I have not once called you by your first. For now we are not friends, and as such I ask that you call me by my last name.” He paused to see how she would handle that. Not well apparently.

“Harry! It is incredibly rude to demand I use your last name. If it’s permission you need then you are more than welcome to call me Hermione.” She had a self-satisfied smile as if she had solved the world’s hardest problem.

“Granger, while I am thankful you would honour me with your first name, I cannot in good faith use it, and I will ask once again you do not use mine first name. It is impolite and not how we Wizards do things.”

“Harry, enough. That’s just a severely outdated tradition that we really should do away with. I think it’s in our power to take the Wizarding world out of the dark ages with such backwards thinking traditions like that and-”

“Enough.” Harry was shouting again. “ Granger, it is rude to start insulting a culture because you do not like it. I have a feeling you will not listen to me,” Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from his bag, and wrote a book title on it. “But maybe you read what I have attempted to tell you from a book. It’s called  _ Traditions and Manners: The Wizarding Way.  _ It will tell you all about the insults you have given to me and I can only assume quite a few more people.” Harry grabbed his things and got up, with Theo, Blaise, and Neville following him, leaving a very angry Granger behind at an empty table.

They walked quite a bit away before Harry took a deep breath. “I need to go outside for a bit.”

“I, uh, I know how to get to the Greenhouses from here.” Neville stammered out. Harry smiled at him and let him lead the way. 

“Guys, I just want to-” Blaise’s hand on his mouth stopped him from continuing.

“Harish, my friend, don’t ruin what has probably been the best thing I’ve ever seen since one of my step dad’s fell into a lake and was attacked by ducks.” Blaise had a massive smile on his face, which soon gave way to laughter. Theo, then Harry and finally Neville followed his lead, and soon all four boys were bending over gasping for air.

“Harry, how'd you know she had insulted others.” Neville asked

“It was an educated guess. I thought that maybe I could give her more credit, seeing as it’s literally the first day here, but did you see the look on the faces of some of the Slytherin girls. It isn't hard to figure out that she said a few wrong things to them. I can already tell it’s her way or the highway.” 

“ Aren’t you worried about getting in trouble?” Neville hesitated a bit.

“I mean not really? I guess I raised my voice, but I didn’t insult or threaten her.” Harry looked at the nervous boy. “ Don’t worry too much about it.”

“ Not to mention Professor is basically Harrell’s dad.” Blaise smirked at Harry, who had tripped and barely caught himself from falling over. He looked around to make sure no one was around before letting his magic silence the area.

“Blaise! You can’t just say that, especially without evidence.” Harry glared at the boy, hoping he could bluff his way out of this.

“There’s plenty of evidence Harwin. One, you have accidentally said ‘Sev’ several times before you corrected yourself several times. Two, you spent nearly two week with him in Diagon Alley. And finally the cherry on top, the hug from last night.” Harry had forgotten about the hug.

“Wait what hug?” Theo asked. 

“Well after the Headmaster and the rest of the Heads of Houses came barreling into our room to confront our ‘Darke Creature smuggler’ of a friend.” Blaise started before explaining everything that happened before they went to sleep including the hug. “ It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen! Like a basket of newborn crups.” Harry rolled his eyes.

“ It was just a small hug!” Harry muttered. Unfortunately Blaise heard him and was practically glowing in satisfaction. Harry felt disinclined to explain his and Sev’s relationship and attempted to change the topic. “Neville, how’d you know how to get here? It’s the first day?”

Neville turned a light pink, “ Uh, well, yo-yo-you see, Professor Sprout is up early, like crazy early, and she apparently has a-a, um a tendency to walk into the Common Room, and if she sees any Hufflepuffs in there she brings them out to work in the Greenhouses.”

“Ahh, free labour.” Blaise proclaimed. “ A sentiment I can get behind. Professor Sprout seems like a wonderful woman!” Harry rolled his eyes again, but shared a smile with Theo.

“No it’s not like that! It’s like the-th-therapy, she only takes those who are clearly having trouble!” Neville defended Professor Sprout. “ It was me and another First Year, I was having trouble sle-sleeping. She took us both down her and just let us talk and work. It was the perfect thing.” Neville was on the verge of a panic attack, and Harry reached over and pulled him close, trying to ground him like Sev would. 

“ Nev, calm down, Blaise is only joking, it’s okay.” Harry rubbed Neville’s back and continued to speak. It took a moment before Neville relaxed a weak smile on his face. Theo had pulled Blaise aside and it was clear he had been told off. 

“ Heir Longbottom, please accept my formal apologies in response to my rude comments.” Blaise bowed so deeply Harry was impressed he remained on his feet Nevlle turned a bright red and rambled his acceptance. After a moment, they just headed into one of the Greenhouses, with Neville explaining everything he could. Soon they found themselves in a large field that Harry had to convince himself they were still in the Greenhouse, resting by a large tree the four boys just sat and talked about what they hoped the year would be like. It was rather relaxing and Harry couldn’t help but hope for more days like it. It was mostly likely that thought that had jinxed Harry though, because no sooner as he thought it, he found himself being surrounded by flying parchment. One was folded into a simple bird and had fallen to the ground at his feet. The second was a much more ornate fold bird, with more pronounced wings and a tail. It landed on Harry’s hand before unfolding itself in a swirl of movement

“ Well Harry, already have some admirers.” Theo smirked, nudging Blaise who had fallen asleep and was in fact snoring. The other boy woke up grumbling but his attention was immediately settled on the letters. “ Good, he’s awake, just open them Harry.”

Harry sighed, deciding to open the simple bird first.

_ My Boy, _

_ It is my wish that you would please make your way to my office at your earliest convenience today. I wish to continue our discussion pertaining to you Familiar. My office is guarded by a Gargoyle. _

_ Sincerely,  _

_ Headmaster Albus Dumbledore _

_ P.S I have enjoy a good lemon drop _

Harry could only sigh, handing the letter off to Blaise who had attempted to read over his shoulder anyways. He turned his attention to the other letter.

_ Heir Potter, _

_ As Head of House Ravenclaw, it is my job to make sure each and every one of my Ravens is well equipped for the school year. As such, today I am meeting up appointments specifically to introduce myself to you and your fellow First Years. If you could kindly make your way to my office for 1:30 I would like to formally welcome you into my House. My office is located behind the painting of a forest, just a few paintings to the right of the Ravenclaw Common Room. _

_ Sincerely  _

_ Professor Filius Flitwick _

“Finally someone actually explains where their office is.” Harry handed the parchment to Neville. An ornate folded letter made its way to Blaise. He read it quickly and passed it off as well, confirming he had an appointment with Professor Flitwick at 1:00. “So since we have a few hours before lunch and mine and Blaise’s meetings, want to go and explore?” They all agreed and Theo took charge, leading the quartet back into the school and down several random halls. Harry took note of several major paintings and tapestries that could be easily seen and pointed them out to the others as landmarks. The ambient magic of the school seemed to be thrilled wherever they found themselves, and it took Harry a moment to realise it wasn’t because they were there, but because HE was there. He eventually just let himself reach out to it with his own magic, and Hogwarts magic practically sang in Harry’s mind. The school even nudged Harry and his friends in the direction of several of her secrets, including a handful of tunnels that led from one side of the castle to another, with no possible way except by magic. A few times it led to an abandoned classroom, to which Theo would examine all that he could in the room, and claim any books he would find. Blaise muttered that Theo didn’t need to take them because he could buy himself a copy, with Theo only stating that free was better. 

  
  


Harry’s favourite place that Hogwarts had led them though was a rather nice office. It was quite apparent that it had been long abandoned. Located just a few floors below the Ravenclaw Common Room in the same tower, It had a large window that was definitely magic as it showed a grey skied beach. There was a large desk, with a lot of draws, unfortunately all were empty. A dusty carpet covered the stone floors, and a large fireplace claimed the left wall as its own. Blaise had discovered a large couch and loveseat under two sheets. Neville had found that a full bathroom connected to it as well, and after testing the faucet, confirmed there was running water.

“ I think this must have been a professor’s office at one point.” Harry was looking through the books that were just gathering dust. By their titles it seemed it was once a Transfiguration Professor.” It’s clearly abandoned though.”

Blaise had used a spell to clean up the couch, and was currently laying down. With Theo claiming the loveseat. “ So what are we going to do then?” Theo asked. One of his new books opened in his hands.

“What do you mean?” Neville had finished exploring the bathroom and was currently poking at a dead plant.

“Well it’s obvious isn't it? We clean it up, and make it our own space.” Harry pushed a bit of magic into the air to blow away a bit of dust off of the book he was looking at, causing the book to shiver awake in his hands. “The castle brought us here. It’s clearly a gift.” A bell rang in the distance, and the other boys took it as the castle was agreeing before Harry’s stomach rumbled and Blaise laughed, informing the others it must be time for lunch. 

Lunch was almost exactly like breakfast had been, only it was louder. All the First Years around him were busy talking about everything they had found. Harry enjoyed learning just listening in, but had to stop Neville from revealing a few of the secrets they had learned, thankfully their new room hadn’t been one of them though. The food was just as good as breakfast, and Harry happily dug in. Ha had noticed when he first walked in that Granger was sitting by herself at the far end of the Slytherin table. While he felt a bit bad she was sitting alone, he was happy that she was not bothering him. Unfortunately Theo had gone back to the Slytherins as well, and Neville was quickly pulled back to the Hufflepuffs.

Blaise and Harry made their way to Professor Fitwick’s office, with Harry deciding to just follow him seeing as his meeting was next. Thankfully there was a small bench outside the office and Harry sat down and opened a book he had taken from their room. It was a work of fiction and soon Harry was soon bored as the entire story was about the main character in a car. It was definitely written by a Wizard because the inside of the car was nothing like an actual car, and Harry was soon laughing at the absurdity within. It was with this sight that Professor Flitwick and Blaise walked in on. Blaise muttered something to the small professor who only laughed, patting the boy on his arm.

“Well Mr. Zabini, I must say it was a pleasure chatting with you. Now if you have any more concerns you are always welcome to come find me.” Professor Flitwick turned to face Harry, “ As for you Heir Potter, why don;t you step into my office.” Harry merely nodded and handed off the book to Blaise, who took it and muttered something about finding out what was so funny in the book.

Professor Flitwick’s office was a wonder of its own. Books upon books towered from the floor, in several haphazard stacks. Folded parchment in the shape of animals flew about above his head. A window took up almost the entire back window and Harry noted was charmed to view a vineyard of sorts. It was obviously not an English landscape and looked quite warmed and relaxing.

“A rather nice view, yes?” Harry jumped, a bit embarrassed that he had forgotten the Professor was with him.

“Yes, sir. It’s like nothing I have ever seen before. I mean at least not in person.”

“Oh yes, everyone should take a trip to the south of France and see their vineyards, even those who do not partake in the wine drinking.” Professor Flitwick chuckled at something he had said. “ But anyways, Heir Potter please have a seat.” The professor followed his own advice and floated up to his chair on the other side of the desk. Harry recognized it as a copy of the ones Griphook and even other goblins. “Well Heir Potter, is there anything you wish to discuss? No, don’t worry, that's fine. Let me explain a few things, and if you need any more information you are more than welcome to ask.” He smiled down at Harry, and Harry found himself almost expecting the fanged smile of other goblins, and was rather surprised when he had a human smile. Professor Flitwick then went on to explain the rules and policies that the Ravenclaws follow: A study period will be scheduled every day in the Common Room, with it being expected for all to be quiet and polite during that time, First Years have a 9:00 pm curfew, and while that does not mean they are expected to sleep, they are expected to be in their dorms, He explained that he had specific office hours that Harry would be more than welcome to come and visit him if he needed anything. He went further and explained that Harry could even set up an appointment if Harry felt his problems would take longer than a walk-in appointment.

“ Finally Heir Potter, I think the most important thing is to know that as your Head of House, any and all disciplinary actions, any discussions on your performance in classes, or any meetings between you and any other members of the staff, you are allowed to have me there, minus detentions of course. For those, if you think them unfair you are more than welcome to find me and discuss them with me, but do not think you could lie about the reasons behind the detention, I will still ask the professor who gave it to you. Is that clear?” Harry nodded along to much of what the Professor had been explaining. It was this final statement that had caught Harry’s attention the most, and he only hesitated a moment before he pulled out the letter from the Headmaster and handed it to Professor Flitwick. The Professor read it and nodded. “ I see, and you wish for me to be present for this meeting I take it.” Professor Flitwick turned his gaze away from Harry for a moment, and Harry felt a wave of uncertainty come from the Profesor. “ Mhmm, what are your plans Albus..” the diminutive man whispered, barey loud enough for Harry to hear. He abruptly turned around, and waved his wand. Three animals flew onto his desk and unfolded. He waved his wand on each of them, before they refolded and flew off and out of the office through a grate above the door. “ Well Heir Potter, You were my last formal meeting today, what say you and I head over to the Headmaster’s office right now?” Professor Flitwick and Harry left the office and took a path, that Harry surmised would take them to the Headmaster.

“ I’d appreciate it sir. And you may call me Harry, or Mr. Potter if you wish. You don’t have to keep calling me by my title.”   
  


“I’m afraid I do Heir Potter, a mutual friend of ours would not take kindly for me to insult you like that. However do not be concerned I shall call you Mr. Potter when we are in class.” 

His response had Harry scramble to think about who they would know, and who would be insulted on his behalf, and he found himself blurting out, “ Oh Merlin, you're related to that scary Healer goblin, Ironclaw somehow aren’t you?” Before covering his mouth. Fearing his outburst would bother the Professor, however he merely laughed.

“Very wise guess Heir Potter, and a correct one as well. Yes that ‘ scary Healer goblin’ as you described her perfectly, might I add, is my Great Great Grandmother.” Professor Flitwick explained, it seemed he would have stated more but it seemed that had come to the Gargoyle that the Headmaster’s letter had been talking about. “ It will just be a moment, Heir Potter, we are waiting for a few more to join our rather impromptu meeting.” He took out the missive again and pointed to the bottom of it. “ The Gargoyle takes a password to open, and it seems that Headmaster Dumbleodore is continuing his traditions of using sweets as the password.” 

Harry was about to ask who else would be coming with them when he caught the unique swish of a dark robe, as Sev turned the corner to head their way. He was almost immediately followed by the sterning looking Professor McGonagall as well as Professor Sprout who had some dirt on her apron. Filius, what seems to be-” Professor Mcgonagall stopped herself as she saw Harry.” Ah Mr. Potter, good day.” She turned to look at Professor Flittwick, who merely smiled before responding.

“It seems that Headmaster Dumbledore wishes to continue the conversation of his concerns of Young Mr. Potter’s Familiar. As it is a concern over the safety of our students, I thought perhaps it would be prudent for us all to be here?” Earning a single nod for Professor McGonagall, a smile for Professor Sprout, and an impassive stare for Sev. Taking that confirmation, Professor Flitwick spoke the password to the Gargoyle and together they all stepped onto the staircase that showed up, before Harry found them all rising up like they were on a circular escalator. When they stopped, Professor Flitwick motioned for Harry to knocon on the Large wooden door that stood in their way.

“Come in my boy.” The Headmaster called out, before the door opened on its own. Harry stepped into the room noting all the gadgets and gizmos the Headmaster had throughout his office, with the Professors following him. “ Well my boy I am glad you have,” Headmaster DUmblerdore stopped noticing the other Professors. “ Ahh, welcome, I am glad you all made your way here. I had forgotten to send out the missives about this meeting, but it’s almost like Magic that you all found your way here anyways.” Harry had clearly felt a burst of annoyance, but it was suddenly gone before Harry could quite notice anything else.

“It was not Magic, Headmaster, but Professor Flitwick, who summoned us here. For what I have no idea.” Sev giving off the appearance he was severely annoyed. “ But as Mr. Potter is here, I can only assume it is because of some mishap or perhaps he is already following his father’s footsteps and causing trouble on the first day?” He raised an eyebrow, and stared down at Harry as if he were ready to throw him out of the school that very second. It was only Harry’s reading of Sev’s face to see he was merely acting like he disdained Harry, that kept the boy from shivering.

“Nothing like that my boy.” The headmaster exclaimed, appearing shocked at the accusations against Harry. “ No, it is merely that I wished to continue our discussion concerning his Familiar. We must take every precaution we can to keep the children of Hogwarts safe.”

“ I believed we would just handle this as any other Familiar that has been in the castle before?” Professor Sprout asked. “ The Familiar is small enough to be carried to and from classes without causing an incident or seen, and would be allowed in class except for when Mr. Potter is taking an exam? Or where the snake could cause issues, like my Greenhouses, or Professor Snape’s potions classes?”

“Yes yes, normally that is how we could handle this, however the snake in question is highly venomous. Who is to say that it won’t be bustled within the halls and snap out to bite another student in a moment of instinct?” The Headmaster put out in response.

“Well thankfully as with all Familiars there is a higher level of intelligence, and it is doubtful the snake would bite without a true reason.” It was Professor McGonagall who disputed this. “ Really Headmaster, I do not understand what is the problem here. Is it not like a similar situation we had a few years ago with the hawk? Where young Mr. Heath had found himself hawk Familiar in his Fourth Year, and we took disciplinary actions against Mr. Heath when the hawk had swooped down and ripped some hair out of poor Ms. Kelly’s hair for its nest? It is doubtful that the snake will bite anyone, however the entire staff, and all the Prefects shall carry a vial of its antivenom in case of emergencies.”

The Headmaster had turned his gaze away from the Professors and was staring intently at Harry, who was purposely looking at his nose and not his eyes. “Now my boy, what do you think? You wouldn’t want to accidentally hurt or kill another student. Perhaps you actually agree with me and you would let your Familiar out into the Forest where it could find its own food and home? You of course could pick it up for the Holidays should you leave us for them, and the Summer Holiday as well” He smiled as if he had just discovered the solution to world hunger and not as if he just casually mentioned separating a Wizard from his Familiar for a long period of time.

“I’m afraid that I do not agree, Headmaster. Saffron is not a wild animal, She is not an it. Saffron has been with me for nearly four years now, and she has never bitten anyone out of pure instinct as you put it. She has handled crowds plenty of times and merely hisses her disassifcation if she is jostled around too much. I do not take kindly to your offer to separate us for well over nine months. She shall remain with me, as the Hogwarts Charter states she can, if that means in my Dorm and not on me, I will allow that.” Harry stared down the Headmaster. His response caused a flurry of responses from the Professors, and Harry tuned them out to have a staring contest with the Phoenix that was currently perched above the Headmaster. 

A single note of music popped in his head, before it slowly turned into a calm, almost-lullaby, song in Harry’s head, calming the boy and filling him with a sense of joy. It was only a light shake on his shoulder that pulled him out of his trance. He apologized, and was soon informed on what the Professors had decided, and hoped he would accept. It was just a Professor Sprout had claimed it would be, with Professor Flitwick informing Harry that should Saffron attack anyone, he would be punished based on the severity of the attack. Harry had only nodded, glad that he could keep her with him whenever she wanted, because Harry knew it was really Saffron who would decide. The Headmaster was not altogether happy with the answer, however he ‘allowed’ it.

“Well my boy. I do hope you understand the severity of the situation. While we are allowing you to keep your snake, any harm to another shall not be allowed.” A twinkle in his eye had Harry mildly concerned.

“ I appreciate that the Professors would allow me to retain Saffron.” Harry pointedly thanked the Professors and ignored the Headmaster. “ also Headmaster, I would greatly appreciate, that you refer to me as Mr. Potter as the rest of the staff already is. We do not know each other well enough for you to call me anything otherwise.” 

“I am sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable Mr. Potter. It is merely an old habit and I shall endeavor to try not and fall back into it.” The Headmaster proclaimed.

“How sir, can it be an ‘ old habit’ as you put it, if we have only just met yesterday?” Harry did not wait for a response, before he nodded his head to the Professors, and made his way out of the Headmaster’s office. He could hear Professor MCGonagall demanding to know what Harry meant by only ‘meeting yesterday’ as he took the stairs down.

“Mr Potter, a moment if you would.” Sev reached out to Harry and led him a bit down the hallway. “ Sorry Harry, the Headmaster could have been listening in from the Gargoyle.” Harry nodded and Sev continued. “ I had meant to discuss with you earlier, however it seems prudent to explain now. For reasons we have already planned to act like we are not close, however what I failed to mention is that I will seem rather harsh and at times downright cruel to you. It is merely an act, Harry. One I must play if we are to convince the Headmaster, and perhaps a few others, that we have no connection.” Sev tried to explain

“It’s alright Sev, I know.” Harry smiled up at the man. “ I can tell when you are actually angry as opposed to how you were just pretending like up there.” His response seemed to startle the man. However Sev quickly came out of it.

“I feel that we shall have to have a discussion about that at a later date. But for now I must take my leave, it seems young Blaise is coming this way to find you. Our conversation with the Headmaster seems to have taken longer than we could have foreseen and it is now time for dinner.” Sev gave him a quick hug, before rushing out of the hall and towards the Great Hall. BLaise soon came up to Harry, adn together the boys head down to eat., with Harry explaining everything to Blaise. It was a long day and Harry hoped for a quiet dinner.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about there being only one chapter this week. I rewrote this freaking chapter like 6 times? I just wasn't happy with it at all. I am like 95% content with it now. Which is good enough I guess... don't expect another chapter until Monday though. I'm rather busy with work and another project I'm doing with a few friends, and I doubt I'll have time to write out I think multiple chapters this week.


	14. Chapter 14

It was quite a strange first couple of weeks of classes. Harry found himself struggling for the first few days, but caught up rather quickly. He actually found he was enjoying most of his classes, with History and Potions being the exception. He found he hated History, but not because it was a boring class and his fellow Ravenclaws and the Slytherins that shared the class with him, fell asleep in it. No he hated the class because, with only a few weeks in, they had learned absolutely nothing relevant. Sure the Goblin Rebellions were important but Harry almost felt like the lessons were more of a 'cautionary tale' about how not to mishandle the goblins or they will try and kill everyone. Harry wondered how Ironclaw and Griphook would take the lessons. Professor Binns was a ghost, and Harry thought that meant he would have been around for much of the history he would be lecturing on, with Harry hoping it meant a unique view on the text. However Harry was rather sad to find out Professor Binns was a relatively young ghost and had not even been born during any of the Goblin Rebellions. Needless to say Harry found the class entirely useless and had started his own History lessons from the books needed for said class, that they did not actually use. Word of his notes ( Harry blamed Blaise) had gone around the castle, and Harry found himself sufdenly very popular, and made quite a bit of money selling off copies of his notes to other First Years, and even a few Second and Fourth Years, who claimed it was purely for their O.W.L.S. 

Harry was also happy to note that he was doing well in Transfiguration, Defense, and Charms. In fact after his monthly review with Professor Flitwick and much to the half goblin's great joy, Harry was number one in all three classes amongst the First Years; he was also first in History, third in Herbology, and fifth in Potions, holding the highest place in each class amongst his fellow Claws. Somehow Blaise had gotten his hands on the full list, and Harry found that Granger was a close second in the four classes he held first in, and that she was fourth in Herbology, and second in Potions only being behind Heir Malfoy. Bethany claimed third and Theo had the fourth spot in Potions. Unsurprisingly, at least to Harry, Neville held first place in Herbology, and what was surprising was that Heir Crabbe was in the second slot. Blaise had claimed he was more than content with his placements, being fifth and sixth in everything, however Harry found that he was more likely to join him in his study sessions now.

It was from Heir Crabbe's ranking in Herbology that Harry decided to watch the Heir and his friend Goyle in History, Transfiguration, and Potions. In History both boys spent much of their time not paying attention, and truth be told both had paid for copies of Harry's notes. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary though since that was what most of the class did. During Transfiguration Class Harry had taken to sitting near them to listen in and see how they performed. Heir Crabbe was an average student in the class, meaning that he usually got the spell figured out by the end of the class, even if the teapot was the wrong color, or the button still had wings. Goyle however, never seemed to cast any spell properly. Harry knew differently though. During his stake out of the pair, he had witnessed Goyle performing almost any transfiguring that was needed, but he always did it when he thought no one was looking. It would take a few tries, but he'd finally do it, smiled to himself. And sometimes earning a pat on his back from Heir Crabbe, before he waved his wand again ruining his work and staring off into the distance with a blank look. 

Potions was hell for Harry though, and he didn't pay attention to the duo as much as he would have liked. It wasn't the work in the class that was the problem. Harry constantly made decent and near potions, well at least now he did. In the beginning his potions were constantly being sabotaged, it didn't take a genius to figure out it was Heir Malfoy and Bethany. And while it was a nuisance at first, it created a valid excuse for Sev to give Harry detentions. It had also given a strong example of the expansiveness of the Heir Protection. Most of the sabotages were not dangerous, merely ruining or weakening Harry's potion. But one particular instance, Harry hoped was purely accidental, whatever they had thrown into his potion had caused a rather loud explosion, that had thrown Harry and his Theo off their stools and into the table behind them. Almost immediately, Heir Malfoy's potion exploded in much the same manner. It was during the detention that night, to which only Harry was 'forced to attend, that Sev confided in him that there was no justification for their potion exploding. As far as he could tell from the remnants in the cauldron, it was nearly perfect. It was also at this detention that Sev taught Harry a basic shield charm used to both restrict unwanted objects from entering the cauldron, and to weaken an explosion, and after a bit of convincing on Harry's end, Sev taught it to all of his classes.

" I think everyone would benefit from that spell Sev." Harry had pleaded.

" It's written in the textbook that I assigned for the class." 

" It's probably written as a notation somewhere in the middle of the book, concerning a potion that has no need for said charm." Harry rebutted. When silence was the Potion Master's response, Harry knew he was correct.

No, the main problem with potions was Sev. Harry had known things would be different between them. At least in the 'eyes of the public' as Sev called it. It wasn't even that Sev was being cruel to him. Sev mostly just ignored Harry, making a few comments to him but never going out of his way to interact with Harry. Harry was so used to one on one time with Sev during potions that he was truly upset when Sev ignored him. The detentions helped with it but Harry was still struggling with this new dynamic between the two. However it was just what they had to do and Harry would push himself to get over it.

With the new shield charm in place, Harry was now free to watch Heir Crabbe and Goyle make their potion. It was entirely coincidental that Harry had seen what happened before their potion. They were attempting the Forgetfulness Potion, which Sev had told the class would be a benchmark of sorts, and would be repeatedly made by the students throughout the entire year. Harry and Theo already had their own stock of ingredients, and while everyone else had to get up to get their own ingredients from Sev's storage, they spent that time organizing their ingredients and prepping the ones that they could. Harry also took the time to see that Heir Crabbe had gone to collect his and Goyle's ingredients. Soon everyone was ready and with shields placed over everyone's cauldrons, the students started making their potions. As it was Slytherins and Ravenclaws, Sev claimed there were less explosions and Harry believed him purely because everyone was intent on their own work. It was really only Harry who would look around and watch everyone, mostly because he knew what he was doing and because he trusted Theo to keep them going in the right direction. It was when the mistletoe berries were added that Harry caught the 'mistake' Heir Crabbe made, instead of the white berries of mistletoe, Heir Crabbe had grabbed the red berries of Holly. It was a major difference but a simple mistake as both plants were connected to the holiday season and regularly mixed up. But for someone who was reportedly second in Herbology, Harry knew it was not a mistake, but done purposely. 

He watched as Goyle added the berries to the potion, and saw as a heavy black smoke poured out of the cauldron and a smell of what Harry could only describe a burnt hair filled the room. The potion then began bubbling before the potion turned into a foam and expanded, pushing up against the invisible walls of the shield charm. Sev had quickly come over and Vanished their potion giving them both failures. Both boys took it in stride merely nodding before they cleaned up their workspace. Harry shared a look with Theo, and both nodded. They had had a discussion a week or so ago, and both Blaise and Theo knew that Harry was planning on confronting the pair of Slytherins. Theo just started packing up both of their things as Harry stood up to follow the two out of the classroom.

Harry understood what it meant to 'dumb yourself down. He did it through much of his primary school years. After getting a couple of higher grades on tests than Dudley, Harry was not given hugs and kisses as he had sadly expected. No he had earned a beating. From then on he didn't try in school. Aiming to be just passing but never above Dudley. It wasn't even the beatings that did the most damage for Harry. He still had trouble with his anxiety concerning his grades. He found himself wanting to hide his good grades from his friends, even as they continued to so his support and congratulated him. He still second guessed all his answers on the test and quizzes. Fearing the Professor would turn around and claim he was cheating. But worse was that he expected pain whenever he actually did well, and he was always on guard just after a test or quiz was returned to him for fear of being attacked. He'd talk to both Aggie and Sev about his feelings, and neither had a good solution. Sev gave him a steady supply of calming draughts and offered to find him a Mind Healer, however with the much needed permission of a magical guardian, Harry doubted that would happen any time soon. 

" Heir Crabbe, Goyle, I could have a moment with you two please?" Giving them both a respectful greeting. " I'm sorry I haven't taken the time to talk with you two as I have with other Heirs. I have no excuse." Harry had only met with a couple of Heirs, as it was Tradition for the 'lesser' Families to reach out to him, and there were only a few who actually had. Many of the Slytherin and even quite a few Hufflepuff Heirs had not reached out. Blaise had argued that this wasn't a positive political play, and that it would actually hurt Harry. Theo was the one to point out that Harry wasn't doing it for politics. Hey may not know why, but he knew it was important to Harry.

The two Slytherins both froze, before bowing to Harry, Goyle lower than Heir Crabbe. Heir Crabbe looked to Goyle, and Goyle spoke, which was interesting. "There is no reason to apologize to us Heir Potter. It’s not like we thought you would waste your time on us.” Heir Crabbe nodded along.

“ You aren’t a waste of my time, Goyle.” Harry denied with a shake of his head. “ I just had a few questions to ask you if you don’t mind. It might just be that I am wasting your time.” Both Slytherins gave Harry a nod. Well might as well just go for it. “ I want to know why the two of you are acting like idiots.”Theo muttered something about ‘being an idiot’ causing Blaise to chuckle.

Harry ignored them, focusing more on the pair in front of him, who were currently doing rather decent impressions of deer caught in headlights. Heir Crabbe glanced over at Goyle, who had apparently found his tongue. “ What do you mean? We aren’t acting like idiots. We are just walking normally.”

Harry found himself sighing. “ I do not mean you are acting like idiots now. I want to know why you two are dumbing yourself down in classes. “ He turned his attention to Heir Crabbe. “ I know for a fact that you are number two in Herbology, so how is it that you grabbed the wrong berry today?”

“I-it was a m-mis-mistake.” Heir Crabbe had a rather strong stutter, similar to Professor Quirell, but somehow it wasn’t as annoying to Harry. “I-I wasn’t pa-paying a-atten-attention.” He managed out. Meanwhile it seems that they had drawn a small audience.

“Potter! Picking on those even less fortunate than yourself? For shame.” Heir Malfoy had apparently found himself bored.

“ Well Met Heir Draco.” Harry dipped his head, before turning to look at his companion, Bethany, and ignoring her. “ I was just having a conversation with Heir Crabbe and Goyle here. Bullying is more your thing don’t you think?” A smirk on Harry’s face, thinking about how he witnessed Heir Malfoy insult a multitude of people, including Heir Crabbe and Goyle. It apparently upset the Heir, as his normally pale skin turned a bright pink. It was only with Bethany holding him back that the young Heir didn’t attack Harry.

“Listen you little Halfblood, you need to apologize and respect your betters.” This was Bethany’s first words to Harry, and to as he wasn’t impressed would be a massive understatement.

“Yeah, we all know you are just a False Heir, and that it rightfully belongs to Bethany here.” Heir Malfoy tacked on. Harry merely sighed, they had had the ‘False Heir’ argument several times over the last month, and Harry was honestly quite sick of it.

“ Heir Crabbe, Goyle, if you would give me a second, it seems I have to handle this before we can continue our chat.” Harry turned his attention to the other two Slytherin, whipping his wand about and summoning out Granny Grimoire from her pouch in his bag. He also withdrew a simple letter. “First things first. I am not a Halfblood. As our Customs and our Traditions state, I am a pureblood. It seems my mother was born from two Squibs, at the end of several Squib Lines that followed Traditions and only married pureblood Squibs.” Harry stared directly into Heir Malfoy’s eyes, feeling his unease and even a small amount of fear. “I have proof from the Goblins who did a Lineage Test on my mother’s magic, as well as a formal letter from the Lady Sayre, welcoming me into her family and inviting me to their Winter Festivities.” It was well known that the Sayre Family was open to marriages with Muggles and Halfbloods however they would never welcome Halfbloods directly into the Family, which was a weird Custom but Harry didn’t really care. This of course had gotten a few of the students, who had stopped to watch the almost Daily Heir Malfoy/Heir Potter Confrontation, talking and there was now a low roar of voices behind Heir Malofy and Bethany. 

Harry waited for Heir Malfoy to argue back, however it seemed he was finally stunned quiet. With a prayer to Merlin Harry turned his attention over to Bethany. “ Now I have let you mutter on about me being the “False Heir’ enough I think. I was letting it go because I had hoped that as Family you would have given up on it, smartened up and come show me the respect that as Heir I deserve. Funnily enough I would not have ever demanded it but you have pushed the issue quite a bit further than I had expected. So here, I am the ‘False Heir’ as you so put it, it means you are the Rightful Heir, so take this and prove it.” Harry held out the Potter Grimoire, and Bethany’s face turned an ashy grey. Harry was pulling a major gamble here. 

The problem was that only those with strong enough blood connection to the main Potter line could see Potter Crest on the book, anyone else would just see a blank book. Bethany was close enough, her last name was Potter for Merlin’s sake, so she would see it, however it was her reactions that everyone else would see. Harry hoped she was thrown off enough not to try and deny it. Thankfully it seems she was, because she actually pulled away from the Grimoire. It was obvious that the girl knew that Granny Grmoire had a strong intolerance of those who shouldn't have hold of her. Mentally Harry let out a sigh of relief as Bethany stuttered her way deeper in the hole she had dug herself into. It was when she was finally done that Harry returned to ignoring her and looked at Heir Malfoy, who had nothing to say still. Smiling at both, Harry turned around the Heir Crabbe and Goyle again, both staring open mouthed at him. 

“Sorry about that.” Harry dipped his head at the two of them. Much of the crowd had dispersed after the apparent tongue thrashing was over. A few still lingered including Heir Malfoy and Bethany. “ But seriously, why are you two pretending to be dumb? I have watched you, Goyle, in Transfiguration and I know you can do the spells, you might not be the first to do it and it doesn't always come out perfectly but I have seen you manage nearly each spell we are taught. Why are you hiding that?”

“Potter, stop making up lies. Those two are nothing but oafs.” Heir Malfoy had found his tongue.

“I am not talking to you. This doesn't concern you Heir Malfoy.” 

“Yes it does. Both the Crabbe and Goyle Families are Vassals to the Malfoy Family. So this conversation does in fact concern me.” Heir Malfoy responded with a smug look on his face.

“Fine then, why don’t you tell me why these two are hiding their intelligence.”

“ They aren’t hiding anything Potter, I have already told you this. Those two oafs couldn't even find themselves out ao a bag if it was cut open at both ends.”

“ I’m telling you I have proof.” Harry had gotten frustrated and he could feel his magic seeping out. While Heir Malfoy continued his tyrad of how dumb and weak the pair of Slytherins were, Harry had turned to face them and saw the look of complete defeat on their faces. “Enough. Heir Malfoy, these to are not dumb in anyway shape or form and you need to stop belittling them.”

“ Don’t tell me what to do with my own Vassals Potter.”

“They aren’t you Vassals yet Heir Malfoy, and maybe they shouldn’t become yours either, if this is how a future Lord will treat his Vassals. Lords are meant to take care and promote their Vassals, not belittle them and bring them down. A Lord is a powerful one when all of their subjects and their Families prosper. But it looks like the Future Lord Malfoy only concerns himself with himself. Perhaps you keep these two as oafs so that you look better?” Harry’s anger had taken control of his tongue. Blaise and Theo had attempted to calm him down, but were not pushed Heir Crabbe and Goyle away. Harry’s magic had also weighted down on everyone in the hallway, and most had fled. A few older years were able to withstand the onslaught of magic. Meanwhile Heir Malfoy was trying to retreat away from the furious Heir Potter, and Bethany was nowhere to be seen. 

“ You have the responsibility to help them, Heir Malfoy.” Harry spat out the boy’s title. “ So why aren’t you?” His magic had gathered up again, cloaking Harry in its energy, making his steps thunder along the hallway and his voice boom. “ Why haven’t you-” He was stopped suddenly when a firm hand took hold of his shoulder, and a potion was placed in front of his face. It took a moment in his haze of rage to figure things out, but gratefully downed the calming draught before turning to see Sev, no Professor Snape glaring down at him.

“What,” Professor Snape snarled out. “ Seems to be the issue? Mr. Malfoy, perhaps you could illuminate me as to why two fifth years burst into my room claiming to see you and Mr. Potter fighting?” He raised a single eyebrow, and Harry watched the other Heir quite literally throw me under the bus. “Detention Mr. Potter. The next three days. With me.” Professor Snape informed Harry without even a glance.

“Sir don’t you think you should take points away as well?” A smug Heir Malfoy pointed out.

“ Ah yes. Ten points.” Professor Snape stated. “ From Slytherin, for lying and attempting to tell me how to do my job.” Heir Malfoy’s smirk was gone, replaced by an outraged look. It was at this time that Harry made his grand escape, not truly upset with the fact he would get to spend more time with Sev. He made his way to the Great Hall to have lunch, happy to see that Theo and Blaise were at the Ravenclaw’s table, he was also a bit surprised to see Heir Crabbe and Goyle, both who nodded at Harry as he sat down and began to eat.

It seemed to be a day of confrontation though, because Granger soon sat on the side of Harry, demanding he join her study group. Harry was tempted, a study group would help him make friends and it would also help him in his classes, however when he asked who else would be in the group, Granger had only stated that Draco had refused to share study group with a muggleborn, and that she hadn’t bothered to ask anyone else, stating it was more to keep them at the top than to help others. Even when he had recommended Heir Crabbe or Neville to the group as they were above both himself and Granger in Herbology she gave him a bland look explaining it was more for actual classes. It was actually quite easy after that for Harry to deny her request, and she left on her own with a heavy sigh. 

The idea of a study group though stuck with Harry and with the aid of Theo, Blaise and Neville, they finished cleaning up the office they had found, and were now regularly using it to work together on their homework. Between Harry Theo and Blaise several wards and charms were placed on the doorway, and Harry doubted anyone would even bother to try and get in. They had even invited Heir Crabbe and Goyle, who at first had said no, fearing repercussions from Heir Malfoy. But soon enough came around and began joining in after it seemed Heir Malfoy did not care. ( He did but was a bit afraid of Harry.) 

It was nearly two days before Samhain, Harry was intent on claiming the Wizarding Holidays as his own. Halloween was nothing special in the first place, and when he learned it was the day his parents died, well he’d much rather celebrate a Holiday that would allow him to honour them as opposed to a holiday that was purely for candy, when two major things took place.

The first happened mostly because the other boys had a discussion about their Family Manors, and how each one would be decorated during the Holidays. It made Harry wonder what had happened to Potter Manor. Theo had confirmed that it wasn’t known to have been destroyed, as it looked like the only Potter property that had been damaged in the war was actually the one in Godric’s Hollow that they had lived in. Granny Grimoire confirmed it was still around, even giving him the unplottable coordinates. Harry’s only option was to turn to the Goblins, and for a small fee, Griphook was more than willing to send a party of Goblins to check the property and see if it was livable. Harry doubted he could get away with moving in, especially when Griphook’s letter informed Harry that his Magical Guardian was well aware of its location. It meant that even if it was unplottable the Headmaster would be able to get to him, even with the Wards up. However it was always nice to have a backup plan.

Griphook’s crew were able to clear Potter Manor though, as a few ghouls and boggarts had made their home in it. Harry also learned that there were a total of fifteen House Elves bonded to the Potter Manor and the Potter Family, and was altogether surprised when Dingly popped suddenly onto his bed that night to formally introduce herself. It turns out Dingly was the Head House Elf and it was her job to tell the other Elves what the Master, Harry, wanted. Harry had a small idea of sneaking off to Potter Manor for the Winter Holidays, since he was not staying at Hogwarts nor would he go back to Number 4. So he asked Dingly to make sure the Manor was cleaned from top to bottom, and that the potions room and the kitchen were well stocked. Dingly had shaken her head so enthusiastically that Harry feared her ears would fall off, before she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

The second major thing that happened was that Daphne Greengrass introduced herself the day before Samhain.

“ Heir Potter, it is a pleasure.” Harry had been walking into the Great Hall, when he was stopped by a thin, short blonde girl, who was followed by Theo. Harry had raised an eyebrow in question to the other boy, who merely shrugged and pointedly turned his gaze to the girl who was still bowing to Harry.

“Oh uh, Well Met Heir Greengrass.” Harry bowed to her not as deeply. Heir Greengrass rose up, and stared hard at Harry.

“ I have much to say Heir Potter, but I believe the first thing is that I have to say I am sorry.”

“Why would you be sorry?” Harry turned to Theo again who just stared impassively at him.

Heir Greengrass closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was rather Unslytherin-like behaviour and had Harry quite a bit more interested then he would ever admit. She opened her eyes suddenly, startling Harry before she began. “ Well you see Heir Potter, I am well technically I am a Potter as well, we are Cousins and I am saying sorry for not acknowledging our connection and for not introducing myself to you earlier.” She rushed through her words, barely taking a breath. Harry was ready to admit that he was not prepared for that. He had only just started on the Potter Lineage and as Blaise and Theo both argued, he had started with the beginning of the Potter Line. He was only in the 1400’s of a rather long Family Line, so he was not truly aware of any immediate connections with other students. 

“ I must admit it was not my idea to begin with.” Heir Greengrass was speaking again and Harry snapped out of his thoughts to pay attention. “Bethany and I are close, I guess Aiden as well, but anyways we are Cousins, but you already knew that, since well since we are all Cousins. But anyways we are Cousins that grew up together.” She was clearly flustered. “ But anyways it was her idea, since we grew up together and I always went along with her, she came up with the idea that she would snub you. As far as she was concerned her father should be Lord Potter and that he was the true Heir Potter.I didn’t want to get in the middle of it. Family matters can get weird.” She made eye contact with him. Harry wasn’t getting any sense of hostility or dishonesty from her, however he was getting a prickly feeling like something was off with the girl in front of him. 

“So it was Bethany who felt she deserved what I have, and you just went along with it?” Harry felt like he was missing something. “ So what do you want?”

“I just want to say that I am sorry, and also if we could hang out for a bit and get to know each other. We are Family and I want that connection.” Heir Greengrass responded. Her hair kept falling into her face and she had to reach up and place it behind her ear over and over as she spoke. Harry could tell that she wasn’t lying, and she meant it, but Harry could not stop the feeling that something was off. He once again looked at Theo, who Harry could sense was rather amused at this point. 

“ Okay I feel like I’m missing something.” Harry blurted out without thinking. “ It’s like, I know you are being sincere but, there's’ just something off about you. I’m sorry that was rude.” Harry blushed realizing he had just insulted his Cousin. She gave him a hard look again before she let out a heavy sigh, and turned around to hand Theo two galleons. She then turned back to him.

The first thing Harry noticed was that she seemed to be holding herself differently, now she was taller and her hair was no longer falling into her face. “I am truly sorry Heir Potter.” Even her voice was different, she no longer rushed out her words. “Theo and I had a bet. You see, in Slytherin, everyone thinks I am a dumb blonde, and Theo claimed that my fake personality wouldn’t work with you.” She smirked at Harry. “ So now I get to say thanks Cousin for making me lose two galleon.” Harry was still a bit bewildered ath the sudden change in the girl, but figured he would get a much better explanation from Theo later.

“ But what I said was true. I am sorry that I avoided you. Bethany and I grew up together, and I learned at a young age it was better not to get in her way. She decided to pit herself up against you, and I really didn’t want to find myself between you two. As well, my parents advised me to stay out of it considering I am technically not a Potter, my grandmother however.” A true smile graced her face. “ Her ideas would put the Weasley Twins to shame. Oh not against you Heir Potter, but against Bethany. Gram doesn’t like Bethany for some reason.”

“So then why now?” Harry asked again.

“I saw the Potter Crest on the Grimoire, when you called her and Draco out before. And I wanted to introduce myself to you then, however I was concerned with how you would respond to that. It was actually Theo who got me to this point, informing that you would never turn your back on Family, and how I could apologize to you and hope for the best.” A small smile rested on her face. Harry could feel her hope that he would forgive her, and he was honestly tempted. 

“Fine Heir Greengrass, I accept.” Harry responded formally. “Now may I invite you to the Ravenclaw table to lunch? I think as Cousins we need to get to know each other.” With a huge smile on his face, Harry offered her his left arm, before pulling Theo in on his right arm. The day before Samhain and things were looking up for Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally. It was meant to include Samhain, but it was getting too long. So the troll shall have to wait. Yes the troll is going to make an appearance cause why not. Again sorry it was late. Enjoy :D


	15. Chapter 15

Halloween was, no Samhain was a weird day at Hogwarts. Harry needed to stop thinking of the Muggle Holiday, which shouldn't have been difficult as Harry had never celebrated Halloween in his life since it was too weird for the Durleys. He was a wizard and he felt it was wrong to not celebrate as wizards do. Harry could see a massive disconnect between those who followed the Traditions of the Wizarding World and those who didn't. For the Purebloods and other traditionalists, it was a somber day. The students, and even several of the Professors were quieter and calmer. However they Muggleborns and non Traditionalists were the complete opposite; loudly laughing are pulling pranks and trying to scare each other and everyone else. It was the Weasley Twins that were pulling the most pranks, but Harry couldn’t help to notice that their ‘victims’ were never Traditionalists.

Harry’s classes with the Slytherin’s were the quietest he’d ever attended as much of the Traditionalists in Hogwarts were in Ravenclaw and Slytherin. It wasn’t that everyone was sad or depressed though, it was just that everyone was being quiet and respectful. Potions was particularly odd as Sev had not put on his Professor Snape persona, not ignoring or belittling Harry. But Defense was the worst. Professor Quirrell’s stutter was at an all time high, and Harry couldn’t help but grimace. The other thing that bothered Harry was that the Magic of the room was rather heavy and sticky, like a warm humid summer day, making Harry very uncomfortable. When he asked Theo what he felt, Theo couldn’t notice any difference with him telling Harry that he needed to tell Professor Snape.

Sev didn’t seem surprised by what Harry said, only asking more in depth questions.

“Was it the Magic of the room Harry, or was it specifically a person’s Magic?” this made Harry think, as he never really put much thought into it. It was always in the Defense room that Magic just felt off around him. He tried to think back, and feel what he could, but he honestly couldn’t pinpoint where the gross magic was coming from. Sev frowned a bit as Harry told him that. “ We can at least ignore the other students in the classroom, as you have classes with them and haven’t noticed anything outside of the Defense class correct?” Harry nodded. “ Then I think that is it best if you were to avoid being alone with Professor Quirrell, and to stay out of his classroom if you can.” a stern look had Harry agreeing, even as he had no intentions of being around the garlic smelling man. He hated how the magic felt and he had no intentions of being near it unless he had too.

“Now,” Sev was clearly uncomfortable, “ Is there anything else you wish to discuss today?” It took Harry a moment to realize what he meant before he remembered today was the anniversary of his parents death. It was a somber thought and Harry didn’t even realize he was shivering until Sev wrapped his arms around the small boy. He latched on to the dark clad man and refused to let go. It was only a knock at the classroom door that had them separating quickly. 

Thankfully it was only Theo and Blaise, the latter who could not stop smirking at Harry. After saying goodbye the trio headed over to the Study, which was the name that Blaise had given their claimed room as. So far only Theo, Blaise, Neville and Harry used it, with Harry claiming it was theirs. Whenever Heir Crabbe, Goyle or Heir Greengrass joined their study sessions, Harry made sure it was in the library.

It was agreed that they would get all their homework done so that they could enjoy the weekend. Professor Flitwick had given out a simple worksheet with instructions on how to correct a wrong wand movement during a spell, Sev had given three chapters to read in preparation for the next potion they would be brewing, and Professor Sprout had asked for a detailed drawing of a few plants, which Theo had done first as he enjoyed drawing. Harry could admit the boy was really good. Unfortunately it looked like Professor McGonagall’s paper demanded another source, and Harry somehow found himself volunteered to go to the library to retrieve  The Ins and Outs of Transfiguring an Object’s Ins and Outs. Still bemused at the situation, Harry left Theo and Blaise and made his way around the castle, using a few secret tunnels to get to the other side where the library was located.

Harry nodded to Madam Pince, the Librarian, who merely looked at him before returning to her sorting of some returned books. It wasn't as quiet as Harry had expected, with there being loud whispering coming from several large groups spread out in the study area. Harry nodded a few of his friends, including Terry and Anthony who were currently studying with a few Hufflepuffs including Heir Bones and her friend Abbott. There were also several older Ravenclaws that nodded politely to him. He made his way passed them all and found himself in the Transfiguration section and found the book he needed. He was also happy to note that he found a few others that would help his essay immensely. He had no intentions of sharing with the other two as they had tricked him into making the trek down here.

He carried his stack, quietly stepping out of the aisle and began heading over to Madam Pince’s desk to check them out when he heard a muttering to the side of him

“That know-it-all is so annoying.” The first voice claimed

“She is, why can’t she just shut up for once.” Another responded, Harry peaked over and spotted the culprits, Heir Parkinson and Davis, two Slytherins in his year. “She spent all morning telling a couple of Hufflepuffs how they shouldn’t be celebrating Samhain because it was a ridiculous and outdated festival.”

“I know. I’m just glad she realized that none of us Slytherins put any thought into her ideas and opinions, because I think I’d absolutely scream if she tried to change our ways again.” Harry had heard enough by then and decided to continue on. It seems Granger hadn’t bothered to read up on the culture again. He almost got to Madam Prince’s desk when he heard a sniffle. Sighing to himself because he knew he couldn’t let it go, he turned to his left where the sound was coming from and found Granger alone at a desk in the corner, books stacked all over the table with several opened to random pages, their bindings being stretched. He found himself standing awkwardly over the girl, debating as to try and talk to her or just go

“If you have something to say, say it.” She apparently decided for him. Sighing again Harry carefully put his stack down on the table and pulled the chair opposite her. This was a surprise to her since all she could do was look up at him and stare with her mouth gaping a bit.

“Close your mouth Granger.” Harry started. “ Is it safe to assume you heard what those girls were saying to you?” She snapped her mouth shut and glared at him. Harry found himself sighing again. This wasn't going to be easy. He’d been meaning to try one more time to get Granger to pull back, but he’d kept putting it off. He wasn’t even sure why he needed to do this. Maybe it was because he noticed she didn’t have any friends and he felt bad, or maybe it was because she was a pain as Blaise claimed.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Is it safe to assume they were right though?” Harry asked. “ Did you even bother to read the book I told you to?”

“Of course I read it, but it just explained a bunch of archaic and old traditions and beliefs. No one follows those now.” She grumbled at him, turning back to her book which was still spread out. Harry could practically hear the poor book letting out a small whimper.

“ Granger, I can assure you, as I am sure several other students have as well that those traditions and beliefs are not old. That book was only written ten years ago. It’s actually the most updated version.” 

“But that’s insane! No one in the Muggle world even followed half of them in the 1600’s let alone today.” She replied, angrily flipping the page of the book she had.

“Granger for the last time You. Are. Not. In. The. Muggle. World.” Harry tapped the desk with his fingers at every word. “ This is a whole new world with our own philosophy. You need to accept it. Think of this world as a new country. Forget what you did in England and imagine you now live in France. Are you going to yell at everyone to speak English? Demand that they stop having a president and switch to a Monarchical Parliament? Perhaps tell them to only cook curry and forget all other their own foods? No of course not. So why do you insist on doing it here? You joined this world less than three months ago, and are dissecting it and trashing everything you don’t like because it is different.”

“But Harry! It’s so barbaric and backwards! They have arranged marriages and dowries! They think they can put a price on their daughters and sell them to their future husbands. Then there’s the idea of using last names and a hierarchy where some people are more important than others. The fact that you can insult a person simply by forgetting their titles is moronic! Not to mention the whole idea that magic is akin to a god and that some of them worship it!” He had slammed the open book on the table sometime during her rant and Harry couldn’t help but flinch as she continued to hold it open on the table.

Harry couldn’t take the book’s abuse any more and reached out and ripped the book from her hands, carefully closing it and rubbing along its bindings. He could feel the faint purr coming out of it. 

“You’re nitpicking what you don’t like, Granger. No, I’m speaking now. Yes there are arranged marriages, but it is not written in stone by the parents or guardians. They are usually planned at an early age, and the children can back out of it at any time. A dowry is not actually about money but about an offering of support and Magical Artifacts to the newly weds.” He took a breather. “ As to the Hierarchy, and the fact you insult someone by not using their title? Sure there is no possible way the Muggles do that right? The Queen doesn’t have a title correct? Nor all the Sirs and Ladies that she had Knighted over the years? Families in the Wizarding World are important, the Hierarchy is a form of celebrating it. It’s not that those of us who have a title look down on those who don't; it's more like a badge of honour and respect. When you don’t use our titles it’s not just an insult to us, but it’s an insult to our Families.” 

Granger had tried to speak but unfortunately for her, Harry’s magic had escaped a bit and had silenced her, to which Harry hadn’t noticed before, but with a flip of his wand he took it off her. The book was now resting contentedly on the table and Harry had grabbed another one of the stretched out books. It too was purring at his petting.

“As to worshipping magic, Granger, what do you think magic is? No, don't answer, just listen.” Harry remained silent though, and Granger started to speak again. “Granger shut up and listen.” He continued to remain silent as the purring from the book got louder, only now claiming the girl’s attention.

“What’s that sound? How are you doing it?”

“I’m not making the sound Granger.”   
  


“Then where is it coming from?”

“It’s coming from the book Granger.” Harry held up the book and placed it on the table. The purring almost immediately stopped, and Harry grabbed the next open book closing it and repeating the process. This book didn’t purr but let out a simple dinging melody. Granger’s mouth fell open as she realized he was right. She took the book out of his hands and the melody stopped.

“Why did it stop?” She demanded him.

“ Pet the book Granger. Softly. You left them open for too long and now their bindings are stiff.” Harry found himself smiling a bit as the girl before him seemed to relax with the book, and soon a smile took over Granger’s face as the book started it’s melody again. “You see Granger? This is why we worship magic. It’s so much more.” She looked at him and he could see she was about to argue.” Granger listen to that book in your hands. Look at the flames from the torches. Look how far away it is from us and yet we are rather well light. Check out the table and the chair. Do you see any scratches or graffiti on either? No, and it’s because of magic. Magic is just so much more! How can you not want to celebrate this?” Harry stared at her and she squirmed in her chair a bit.

“I… I’ll think about what you said.” Granger replied, however she did put the book down and reached over to handle the next book she had left open. Harry smiled at the action and got up to leave. He collected his books and brought them to Madam Pince. 

She took each of the books out of his hands examining them before handing them back. “Mr. Potter, ten points to Ravenclaw.” She immediately turned back to her sorting, leaving a rather bewildered Harry who ran back to tell Theo and Blaise that Madam Pince wasn’t a mute.

*************************************************************************************************************

  
  


Everyone was in the Great Hall of the Evening Feast. Unfortunately for Harry, who just wanted to have a small meal with Saffron and Hedwig in his bed, it was one of those mandatory meals, which also meant Theo and Neville had to sit with their Houses. Blaise had taken it as his goal to make Harry laugh and to keep him laughing for as long as possible and Harry greatly appreciated it. The food was rather rich and as Harry didn’t have much of an appetite to begin with he did not eat much of it. He was also rather dismayed at the fact that there were quite a bit of desserts as well, which meant that the Headmaster would not be dismissing them anytime soon. It was during Harry's fake attempt at eating a pumpkin pie that Harry felt some gross magic entering the Great Hall, just as the doors slammed open, and Professor Quirrell ran into the Hall screaming about a Troll being freed in the dungeons before he passed out.

The students everywhere began screaming and panicking, only being silenced by the Headmaster as he amplified his voice.

“Silence!” He yelled over everyone. “ Now, if everyone would kindly take their seats.” There was a lot of shuffling as the students followed his directions. “ Excellent, Now the Professors and I shall travel into the dungeons and to handle the troll. Prefects if you would then take the other students to your dorms. You shall be safe there.”

Harry could here mumbling from the Slytherins and even a few from the Hufflepuffs as Harry realized both Houses had dorms in and near the Dungeons. As no one seemed to want to point it out, Harry stood up and made his way to the Professors as they were just about to leave the Hall.

“Professor Snape!” Harry yelled out, causing said man to stop and turn with a glare, as well as all the other Professors turning around. “ Not to complain or anything but I think it’s rather a bad idea to send the Slytherins into the Dungeons as there is supposedly a troll loose there.” Harry could see the realization hit Sev’s face which was soon followed by a pure look of regret at the thought he had almost allowed his students into danger. 

“Nonsense my boy, I believe that the prefects can handle themselves. The dorms have the best protection wards available.” The Headmaster patronized.

“Then allow them to take refuge in another Common Room.” His response earned him a few scowls and angry responses, especially from the Gryffindor table.

“As much as it pains me to admit.” Professor Snape drawled out, “I find I must agree with Potter. It is at the moment unsafe for my House to travel through the halls of the Dungeons.” He raised his voice and turned his attention to his students. “ You shall remain here, while the Headmaster is correct about the dormitory wards, he failed to mention that the Great Hall is nearly as strong.”

“I think perhaps it is best if all our students remained here.” Surprisingly it was Professor McGonagall who spoke up. “ As well, I think it best if Professors Flitwick and Sprout were to remain to guard the children.” She had raised a thin eyebrow at the Headmaster who seemed almost ready to interrupt. The man just nodded his head and invited the rest of the staff to follow him out of the Hall and presumably to hunt down a troll in the Dungeons. 

Harry was still glowing from the smile he had gotten from Sev to notice that Neville had found his way to his side. The nervous boy had tugged on Harry’s sleeve. “ Ha-ha-harry. Umm I-I-I think you should know, um that Ai-Aiden isn’t here.”

“Where is is Nev?” Harry was a bit concerned.

“He went to find a bathroom a little while ago. H-h-h-he never came back though.”

“We need to tell the Professors.” Harry grabbed Nev and dragged him over to the two Head of Houses, having him tell them about Aiden. Professor Flitwick let out a squeak before asking around and finding that only two other students had gone missing as well. Apparently Granger had not come to the feast at all and a few girls mentioned hearing her crying in a stall in the girls room. As well as ‘Ronnie’ whom the Twins had found had bullied Granger and was the reason she was upset. They had shoved their brother out of the Hall to get him to find her and apologize. 

“Well Professor Sprout, which of us should go and rescue the trio?” Professor Flitwick asked.

“Why bother, what can those two even do, they were left behind.” Heir Malfoy had apparently meant to whisper that to his friends, however with the silence in the room and him being near them they all heard.

“Well Heir Malfoy, considering that Professor Flitwick has countless medals for first and second place from countless Dueling Championships over the last twenty years, and the fact that Professor Sprout’s father had been Head Auror for much of her childhood, and that her wife currently holds the position of Deputy Head Auror, I think either would be a great option.” Harry glared at the blonde, who had turned a brilliant pink.

“Twenty points from Slytherin, and I think a detention with Professor Snape is in order, Heir Malfoy.” Prefect Weasley stated, having come over when he learned his brother was outside of the Great Hall. “As well as an apology.” Heir Malfoy quickly mumbled one and shuffled himself further away. Professor Flitwick had smiled up at Harry, and turned his attention to Professor Sprout, who decided it would be best for her to stay in the Hall. Professor Flitwick agreed and soon left the Hall.

Harry brought Nev over to the Ravenclaw table, where Blaise and Theo had gone to wait, and the quartet tried to keep them all distracted. It was not easy and they all ended up just listening in on the surrounding conversations. All conversations were abruptly ended though as the Great Hall’s doors were slammed opened, earning rather loud screams from several students. Thankfully it was only the other Professors with the Headmaster leading them.

“Students, if I could have your attention please.” Ignoring the fact he already did. “ The troll has been dealt with.” Cheers erupted forth, and he waited a moment before raising his hands to silence them. “Yes, yes it is quite a relief. Now however it is time you all head to your beds. Prefects if you would.” He then turned his attention to the other professors. Professor Sprout and Flitwick, who had returned with the other Professors, came over to Harry and Neville. 

“Boys, if you wouldn’t mind following us.” Professor Sprout smiled at them and escorted the two out of the Hall, Professor Snape was soon at their side with a concerned looking Bethany, and the three older Weasley brothers. It didn’t take long for Harry to realize they were heading towards the Hospital Wing, questioning why he was being taken. “Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, Ms. Potter, I think you all will be happy to know that young Mr.-well- Potter is fine, mostly.” She pulled back the curtain in front of them revealing a smiling Aiden, who was holding his left arm up and was turning it in several directions inspecting the cast on it. 

“Hi sis, Neville.” He greeted the two, his smile falling a fraction noticing Harry. It came back almost instantly when he started animatedly explaining how he tackled a troll. Harry found himself confused as to why this was a good thing and turned his attention to the other beds. Madam Pomfrey was currently at the last one, and Harry saw the Weasleys crowding around what he presumed was ‘Ronnie’s’ bed. Harry made his way over the the last one just as Madam Pomfrey left, earning him a small smile from the matron.

“So Granger, heard you tried to fight a troll.” He earned a hiccupping laugh from the girl. She seemed relatively okay, but there was a bandage around her head. She looked up at him before turning away rather abruptly, earning herself a wince of pain.

“Sorry, well it seems I have a concussion, and there isn’t much in the way of potions to help.” Granger mumbled her head drooping. “ She, she, she gave me a dreamless liquidy thing. Says I’m gonna sleep.” Granger had closed her eyes before finishing her sentence and soon her breathing evened out. Harry just smiled

“ Glad to see you’re okay.” He turned his attention to the other beds and found that Bethany had kicked Neville out and had closed the curtains off, and that ‘Ronnie’ was currently yelling for the Twins to get off of him. Harry made his way over to Neville and after a moment they both made their way back to their Professors who calmly escorted the two back to their Common rooms. For his part, Harry was soon bombarded by questions from the other Claws, demanding to know where he was taken, he ignored them all, instead making his way to his dorm where he proceeded to lay on his bed and explain everything he knew to Blaise he merely whistled in response before leaving the dorm to give Harry some space.

The next morning everyone was talking about the three First Years that had taken on a troll and won. It seems that only Aiden had been badly hurt, with several broken bones. He was still in the Hospital Wing, Granger and ‘Ronnie’ were fine though each at their House tables, with Granger ignoring the demands to explain herself, while ‘Ronnie’ reveled in the attention and told a more outlandish story as he retold it. 

“Well this is going to get boring.” Blaise muttered to Harry, his gaze on the red head who was practically yelling out spewing food on everyone who was nearby. Harry was struggling with something and he turned to look at Blaise.

“What I want to know, Blaise, is why was the troll on the second floor? Professor Quirrell claimed it was in the Dungeons, and there is no way it moved fast enough to get three floors up. Trolls are rather slow and the stairs would have caused an issue.” Blaise only stared at Harry as the boy realized the truth in Harry’s words. “ What’s more, why didn’t the Headmaster use the spell he used to track Saffron on the troll? If they are both dangerous creatures shouldn’t it have worked on the thing?” 

Blaise was about to respond, however the Great Hall doors slammed open, and a tall man with rather messy hair, loudly stomped his way into the hall.

“Headmaster Dumbledore, might I have a word with you, concerning why my son is in the Hospital Wing! As well as why I found out from an owl from my daughter and not you personally?” 


	16. Chapter 16

All eyes had turned to the rather powerful looking man who had entered the Great Hall. Dressed in sharp black wizarding robes, the man strolled up to the faculty table as if he owned the castle. Several medals decorated his robes and his hair, while messy was collected in a low ponytail. Harry had glanced over at Bethany, noting a smirk she held as her eyes followed her father.

“Ah Minister Potter, how kind of you to visit.” The Headmaster attempted to take control of the situation. He rose from his chair, and walked around the table to stand besides the visitor. He attempted to place an arm around the man’s shoulders to guide him away. “ Why don’t we take this into my office. There are many eyes and ears here that have no need to witness this conversation.” Harry almost missed the glance the Headmaster had aimed at him. 

“ Don’t Patronize me Headmaster.” However, Minister Potter straightened his robes and allowed the Headmaster to escort him out through the private professor's entrance in the back of the Great Hall.

“Minister?” Harry whispered over to Blaise.

“Yes Harry, Bethany’s and Aiden’s father is the Minister for the French Ministry of Magic.” Blaise gave Harry a hard look. “ We seriously need to add on to your education if you don’t even know that your Cousin, a Potter, is the most powerful politician on the Continent.”

“It’s not my fault! I can’t be expected to know absolutely everything can I?” Harry was rather indignant at the slight. “ Granny Grimoire hasn’t been updated in nearly twelve years, and as Bethany’s father wasn’t of the Main Line, Granny has to be manually updated. Harry knew his ‘education’, as Blaise put it, was a bit off, having mainly focused on Traditions and his Family’s History. He could admit that now after having been surprised by not one, or two direct Cousins, but by three, including Heir Greengrass. It was much worse, at least to Harry, to find out that the four cousins were in fact related directly from their respective grandparents, Harry’s grandfather being the eldest and the Heir, Heir Greengrass’s grandmother being the middle child, and the twin’s grandfather being the youngest. 

A nudge from Blaise had Harry hopping out of his seat, realizing that while he silently brooded, most everyone had left the Great Hall to head to class. Thankfully the Claws had double potions first thing, so he would be able to sit with Theo and Blaise, and hopefully have a chance to speak to Sev after class. Unfortunately it was not to be, as Harry saw that a Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect was to watch the class. What was worse was that Sev had not trusted them to make a potion without him, and the double period was instead spent writing out the essay Sev had assigned to be handed in at the end of the week. Theo had asked the Prefect where Sev was, and she had replied that the Head of Houses were all in a meeting with the Headmaster and Minister Potter, causing much of the class to split their attentions on Harry and Bethany. Harry had worn a calming mask until everyone finally looked away. Bethany had sat with Heir Parkinson and Davis, with Heir Malfoy being wedged between Vince and Gregg, after several study sessions they had all agreed to first names, much to his apparent despair. Heir Greengrass had taken the fourth seat at Harry’s table, and together the quartet settled into work sharing information to help finish the essay. Harry and Theo had much of it done already, having studied together in the Study earlier in the week when it was first assigned. Sev’s papers were usually the most research heavy assignments, and Harry had taken to working bit by bit on any potions related homework.

Much of the class was spent in mostly silence, with only the scratching of quills on parchment and pages of books flipping making sounds. Well before the double had ended, Harry and Theo had finished their essays, and they turned their attention to the other two helping were needed. With twenty minutes of class left though, it seems that everyone had given up on working, and the Prefect in charge allowed them to talk quietly together, accepting any finished essays. Only a handful of Ravenclaws had handed theirs in, but Theo and Harry refused so that they could have two more days to revise their work. Blaise had not finished his essay but was seen slipping between tables talking to everyone he could. Harry could only smile to Theo seeing that the other boy was in his element collecting information. Heir Greengrass took almost the entire rest of the time to finish her essay, handing it to the Prefect just before the bell rang announcing the end of class.

Blaise had separated from Harry and Theo, claiming he would find out everything he could, while Theo and Harry headed to the Study to spend their free period working on classwork. Harry had almost invited Heir Greengrass, but the girl was soon beckoned over by Bethany and Heir Parkinson.

The duo had almost immediately spread out their things on the large desk that Harry had managed to expand with a Third Year spell. The legs were a bit wobbly, and there was a corner of the desk that was like quicksand, pulling anything that ended up there down into its surface, but other than that Harry was proud of it. They silently edited each other’s potions essay, before working together on their transfigurations worksheet.

“ So, how are you doing?” Theo had asked suddenly, after nearly fifteen minutes of pure silence between them. It was one of the things Harry liked about Theo; they could sit in a comfortable silence together.

“ What do you mean?” Harry pulled himself away from  Understanding the Misunderstood _ ,  _ a transfiguration book that went more in depth of the theory behind the class.

“Well, it's just that, a lot has happened in the last few weeks for you, don’t you think? You confronted Draco and Bethany, befriended Vince and Greg, put Granger in her place again, found out you were related to Daphne, and now your other cousin fought a troll.” Theo tallied each point with a finger, “Not to mention finding out that their father is the Minister of Magical France. I know you’re probably bottling everything up, but you know you can talk to me, right? Friends are there for each other, and you’ve listened to me complain about my own problems enough, not to mention having to listen to Blaise talking about everything, just let it out.”

Theo’s words had made a lump form in Harry’s throat. He never really had anyone his age to talk to. Sure he had Aggie, Sev, and Saffron, but two were adults and the other was a snake. It took only a few moments before Harry blurted out everything.

“I just don't understand Theo, I have so much Family! Cousins are literally coming out of the woodwork. They have parents and grandparents that are living! So why was I left with those bloody muggles?” He never told his friends what the muggles were truly like, only hinting at things, it was too embarrassing for him, and as much as Sev and Aggie both told him it was nothing to be ashamed of, that it wasn’t his fault, the little voice in his head told him otherwise. “Why couldn’t they take me in?” Angry tears had formed in his eyes, and brushed them away with his sleeve. His magic had spread out from him, shaking nearly anything it possibly could in his rage. “You know what would happen if my Aunt and Uncle received word I’d been hurt here? They’d laugh, and ignore me! Hell they’d probably try and take the troll home! Those two, had their dad storm into the school for their sake.” Sobs had taken over the poor boy. “ Why can’t I have that?” he whispered, finding that his voice was gone.

Harry flinched as Theo’s arms wrapped around him, pulling him onto his lap, before he caved in and just began sobbing on the boy’s shoulder. Harry’s magic had almost immediately settled down as well. His sobs soon faded into a quiet sniffle, and Theo found that Harry had fallen asleep on him. Sighing, Theo only tightened his grip on the smaller boy. It was to this scene that Blaise walked into nearly ten minutes later, being glared at by Theo as he loudly proclaimed his entrance. Thankfully the dark haired boy only shifted a bit, and Theo breathed a sigh of relief.

“What happened?” Blaise knew that Harry wouldn’t have just climbed onto Theo and fallen asleep if he was thinking straight. He was getting better with touch, but he was still very adverse to it.

“ I think I have confirmation that he’s abused Blaise.” Theo whispered as he stared down at Harry. “ He told me that his guardians would have laughed at him being hurt like his Cousin was.” 

“I’m sure Professor Snape already knows, and I doubt that he would let them get away with it.” Blaise was unsure of what to do, they were only a couple of eleven year olds, the only thing they could do was tell someone. They only trusted one person to do anything about it, and Blaise couldn’t believe the man would let it continue.

“I still want to tell him Blaise. With something like this, assuming isn’t a good idea.” He had taken to rubbing small circles on Harry’s back. Blaise could do nothing but nod in agreement.

“They’re still in their meeting with the Headmaster. I was coming back from talking with Flint, apparently they don’t know how long the meeting will be so they cancelled all the core classes, the upper years still have their electives, but since the Head’s are going to be busy for an unforeseeable time, they just gave everyone the time off.”

“Good, then he’ll get to sleep a bit more.”

“He’s truly a Ravenclaw, I’ve found him awake at the most random times reading or doing extra work.”

“Don’t let him here you stereotyping him Blaise.” A chuckle escaped from him, shaking his entire body. He forced himself to freeze though as Harry once again shifted. Blaise looked at the pair for a bit, with Theo having no idea what he was thinking, before going over to the table and claiming a spot for his stuff, avoiding the quicksand corner which was currently dragging a quill into its depths.

The sight of Blaise quietly working was the first thing Harry saw as he woke up sometime later, blinking his eyes a bit as he adjusted to being awake. He tried to move, but found himself in a bind. Struggling, Harry turned to see what had wrapped around him, flinging himself off and falling to the ground, after realizing he had fallen asleep on Theo. Unfortunately, Theo, who had also fallen asleep, went with him as his arms were still wrapped around him. Harry managed to squirm his way free, his face bright red as he apologized profusely. Theo continued to shake his head claiming it was alright.

Blaise had resisted the urge to laugh, realizing it would do more harm than good at this point. Instead he called Harry over, who gladly took the distraction, to ask for help on the transfiguration worksheet. Theo on the other hand was left to pick himself up and right the chair. He knew he was going to have to talk to Professor Snape, and he wanted to do it soon. 

It was a while later that Harry’s stomach growled and the trio made their way to the kitchens to grab a snack since they had missed lunch and dinner wasn’t for a couple of hours. The Weasley Twins had taken Harry to the kitchens a while back, claiming he was still much too small and needed to eat more. The House Elves had immediately taken up with Harry, and happily gave him whatever he wanted, this also included anyone that he brought with him as well. The trio had hot chocolate and some biscuits with Harry being given a tin of biscuits for later.

  
  


It was on their way back to the Study when a folded paper bird flew directly into Harry’s face. Muttering under his breath, Harry unfolded the note and read it.

_ My boy, _

_ Please come promptly to my office. We have some things to discuss. _

_ Sincerely Headmaster Albus Dumbledore _

_ P.S I have not enjoyed a box of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans in a long time. _

Harry just sighed holding the note off to the other two boys.

“Well at least that means the meeting is over.” Blaise smirked. “ You should probably just get this over with.”

“I know, I just really need to find Professor Flitwick.” Harry refused to meet with the Headmaster on his own. Thankfully the short professor was in his office, and when Harry informed him of the meeting, the normally jubilant man frowned before nodding.

“Of course I will escort you Heir Potter.” Professor Flitwick waved his wand closing off his office and led Harry to the Headmaster’s office, telling the gargoyle the password before they both rode the stairs up to the heavy wooden door that was becoming a focal point of Harry’s nightmares. Professor Flitwick motioned for Harry to knock and then for him to enter the room first.

“Harry, my boy, how marvelous it is that you could make time to visit an old man today.” Headmaster Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled brightly, dimming a bit as he saw the Head of Ravenclaw following him in.

“Hello Headmaster, I believe we had a talk about the whole ‘my boy’ thing.” Harry stared hard at the space between the old man’s nose, giving him the full force of his glare without making eye contact. Harry was happy to note that the Headmaster was actually affected by it. He’d definitely have to tell Sev about that later.

“Oh yes, I am sorry, but you can forgive a forgetful old man, right Harry?” The Headmaster’s twinkle was back, and Harry wondered if the man had some kind of a charm on them, or if he realized that it was rather off putting.

“No sir, I don’t think I can actually.” A snort from the side of the room had Harry turn his attention from the Headmaster. He barely managed to stop the flinch as he saw it was none other than Minster Potter. Harry collected himself quickly, and dipped his head deeply to the man. “ My apologies, Minister Potter. I was not aware you were there.”

“Think nothing of it Heir Potter.” A knowing smile graced his face. “ It was I who was out of view, merely looking at the amazing books your Headmaster has acquired over the years.” He too dipped his head to Harry with his arm over his chest close fisted.

“Ah yes, my- I mean Harry.” Harry glared back at the Headmaster, who actually flinched this time. “ Jack here, is actually the reason as to why you were called up here.”

Minster Potter had taken to glaring at the Headmaster at the mention of his first name. “Yes  _ Albus _ is correct. If you have the time I wish to have a conversation with you before I must return back to France.” Harry hesitated a moment before nodding his consent as he could justify no reason to avoid it. “ Excellent,  _ Albus _ is there a room that the two of us could use? I couldn’t possibly ask to use your office.”

“I’m sorry Jack, but I cannot in good faith allow you to speak privately with Harry. You are not a staff member nor his legal guardian. As his Magical Guardian, I cannot permit you to have a private moment with Harry.” That cursed twinkle was in the old man’s eyes again. “ You are more than welcome to have the conversation here in my office, I am quite sure Professor Flitwick and I will just fade into the background as if we are not even here.” 

Minister Potter was clearly as impressed with the Headmaster’s meddling as Harry was, if his soured look was anything to go by. He was ready to speak again when Professor Flitwick spoke up instead.

“Headmaster, I think perhaps I should offer my office and my supervision instead. You have spent much of your day in several important meetings today, and I have no doubt that you have much work to catch up with.” He turned his attentions to the two Potters, mildly surprised at the shared look of gratitude from the both of them. He laughed to himself at how the looks were nearly identical. “ If that is agreeable to you two?”

“Yes I believe it is,  _ Albus _ , I must thank you for taking on the concerns of a parent, however I have taken up much of your time. This is the perfect solution. Thank you again.” He promptly ignored the Headmaster and made his way to the exit. Professor Flitwick and Harry both followed, with Harry looking back just before the door closed on its own, seeing the storm clouds in the Headmaster’s eyes. The walk down to Professor Flitwick’s rather awkward in Harry’s opinion. He couldn’t help but glance over at the man every so often, getting caught quite a bit, with Minister Potter’s smirk growing each time. When they finally made it to the Head of the Claw’s office, Professor Flitwick waved his wand over the door unlocking it and letting the trio in. He made his way over to a side compartment, pulling out a tray of tea.

“ I am truly sorry to note I haven’t any biscuits to offer you.” Harry smiled at the professor and pulled out the tin from his bag, offering them both his own from before. Tea was even more awkward, in Harry’s opinion, as they all munched on biscuits. “ Ahh It seems that I have forgotten something in my classroom.” Professor Flitwick exclaimed suddenly, jumping out of his chair and making his way to a door on the right side of his office. “I’ll just be a moment I should think.” Nodding to the Potters before opening the door. It was promptly shut and Harry felt a wave of magic as the Professor placed wards over the office. It took a moment for Harry to feel them out, recognizing them as privacy wards.

“That man is truly a gift.” Minster Potter mumbled turning his attention to Harry.

“You uh know Professor Flitwick, Minister Potter?” Harry asked, mildly surprised. From stories about Sev’s years at Hogwarts, Harry knew the man, who was the same age as Sev and his parents, had not attended. Sev would definitely have complained about there being multiple Potters at the school.

“Oh yes. I’ve lost many Dueling medals from that man, and even had the honour of giving him a few.” Minister Potter looked over at the medals adorning Professor Flitwick’s wall. He pointed out to three golden ones in the shape of stars. “ Those three to be exact. They are from the last three Dueling Championships that the French Ministry hosted. A shame I cannot Duel anymore.” He stared almost wistfully at the medals.

“Heir Potter.” Harry was taken by surprise by the sudden acknowledgement. “ that is,” The man had turned to face him and had taken to rubbing the back of his own neck, a motion that Harry couldn’t help but noticed he found himself doing when he was nervous, which Harry thought was ridiculous, why would the Minister of the French Magical World be nervous talking to him?

“Would you think terribly of me if we left the formalities behind, and I called you Harry?” Harry was a bit dumbstruck for a moment but found himself nodding along as the man breathed a sigh of relief before holding out his hand to Harry.

“ Call me Jack then.” Harry took Jack’s hand giving him a strong shake. “Excellent, But uh first Please accept my formal apology Heir Potter for not personally reaching out to you.” The man was clearly flustered, and Harry realized he probably meant to say that before offering to forget formalities. It instantly made Harry want to like the man, which aoslo made Harry a bit more guarded. “I had thought that you were in fact ignoring my letters, but now after spending some time with your ‘Magical Guardian’ I have come to realize it was probably not you who were destroying my letters.”

“I am sad to say Minist- Jack” Harry corrected himself. “ that I have received no letters from you or any other Potters or relatives. I believe the Headmaster has blocked anything from reaching out to me.”

“Yes I do believe you are correct.” A shadow had crossed over the man’s face, very similar to the one that would cover both Sev’s and Professor Flitwick’s face whenever they thought about the Headmaster as of late. He shook himself out of his thoughts rather abruptly though.” Well Harry, how would you feel if I were to send you letters now? I realize we have only just met, and if what I have heard about how the tins have reacted to you. No you don’t have to say anything I am aware they have snuffed you and ignored the proper formalities. But I would like, as is the proper way, to help in your Familial Education. Normally it would fall to my Aunt Selina, you might know her as Daphne’s grandmother, to help in your education, but the old lady has little energy to do much else besides yell at the birds.” A smile on his face, undermined the apparent insult he was giving his Aunt. “And so that honour now rests with me. Do you accept my offer, Heir Potter?”

Harry was almost ready to accept immediately. However a voice very much like Sev’s, whispered in his head warning him to be cautious. Harry really wanted to talk about this with the real Sev though, and Harry found himself shaking his head. “As much as I would love that, I think I need to think about it first.”

“I understand Harry.” Jack’s face had turned rather sad, and Harry could feel that the man truly did understand. “ Well how about right now we get to know each other?” Harry agreed and soon the two were talking about anything they could think to ask. Harry mostly talked about school and his education, carefully avoiding any questions concerning his home life, they spent quite a bit of time discussing the Family Grimoire though, with Harry being a bit surprised that Jack claimed he had actually written in it.

Harry had immediately pulled Granny Grimoire out, with Jack laughing and agreeing with the nickname. Jack immediately pointed out a few pages from him, mostly on the art of Duelling and a few duels he took part in. When Harry asked how he had been allowed to write within the grimoire a sad smile took over his face, smoothing out the laugh lines around his eyes.

“Your Grandfather, my Uncle, was under the impression that any and all achievements from any Potter should be written within the Grimoir by that person. I am sure that you have noted it is almost completely written by Heirs and Lords and their Spouses correct? But I am sure you also saw how little there is mention of the accolades of any Potter not specifically of those three groups? Your Grandfather found that to be a terrible waste and he allowed any of our accomplishments to be added.”

“That is amazing.” Harry muttered, reading about on Duel between Jack and a Russian witch that lasted for nearly thirty-two hours before he finally won. He laughed with Jack as the man turned red in the face explaining to Harry that it had only been the semifinals of that particular tournament, and he was given forty-eight hours to recuperate before he Duelled for the championship, to which he admitted he lost to none other than Professor Flitwick. 

The conversation switched to duelling from there, to which Professor Flitwick had entered again and the two went at it comparing Duels and the like. Harry found himself truly enjoying himself. Unfortunately it was not too much later than that that the Headmaster made his presence known.

“I am afraid that it is nearly time for you to leave Jack.” Blatantly ignoring the glare from both Potters. “I thought perhaps you would like to say goodbye to your children before I escort you out?”

Jack had muttered under his breath some rather rude comments that made Harry’s ears turn red before the man looked to him. “ Well Harry it was a pleasure to meet you, and I do hope you take me up on my offer. I would love to speak with you more.” He bowed deeply to Harry and thanked Professor Flitwick for his time as he walked out of the office, however he turned to Harry again. “ Oh I meant to offer as well an invitation to celebrate Yule with the rest of us Potters.”

“Sadly, I cannot allow Harry to travel out of the country at this time. His safety is my number one concern Jack.” The Headmaster tutted.

“Well thankfully this year, My Aunt Selina will be the one to host this year at her Manor is Cornwall. So Harry would very much not be leaving the country  _ Albus  _ ” Either the Headmaster had not picked up on the insulting tone Jack had taken when calling him by his first name, or he was being rather obtuse, either way it was annoying Harry. He was however happy to see that the twinkle in the man’s eyes had faded when he realized Harry would most likely be out of Hogwarts for the Holidays. “Well Harry, just think about it. If you decide in favour of it, just owl me, Family always gets priority to me.” With another nod he turned away, truly leaving the office with the Headmaster quickly in tow. 

Harry quietly thanked the Professor for the use of his office, and made his way to Sev’s office, unfortunately the bell for dinner rang, and Harry found himself too hungry to skip a meal. It also helped that Sev would no doubt be in the Great Hall as he rarely missed a meal. Harry would just have to find the man after dinner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware that Jacques is the French Equivalent of James, it was accidentally on purpose.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of panic attacks, disassociating and being on medication. Take you meds kids, they are meant to help.

The week after Samhain was a very strange week for Harry. For one, during breakfast the day after, Bethany strolled over to Harry and bowed deeply. She issued a formal apology to him and begged for his forgiveness. Harry could practically taste the insincerity coming off of her in waves but it seemed that no one else could, and while gritting his teeth he accepted her apology. He however did not offer his forgiveness and the Traditionalists, especially those in Ravenclaw and Slytherin would pick up on that. But clearly it was Bethany had expected nothing more and she gracefully accepted what he offered and went back to her spot at her House table.

The second odd thing that happened was that Aiden took it to mean that he could talk to Harry. And did that boy talk. Harry had already learned that his Cousin loved amphibians and reptiles, courtesy of Neville. Sadly though, the Hufflepuff had not mentioned Aiden’s obsession with geology, which included a very in depth showcasing of his ‘Muggle Rock’ collection which also had a rock from the American Lunar Landing. How Aiden got it Harry had no idea. Nor had Neville explained Aiden’s enthusiasm in sports, especially the muggle ones. Harry was almost constantly bombarded with questions pertaining to football. Thankfully Harry had knowledge about it, and was able to hold his own whenever it was brought up. It was also not the end to a seemingly endless list of topics that Aiden was obsessed with. Aiden was truly invested in magical creatures though and would sprout random facts about mermaids, or hippogriffs, dragons, etc. If Harry could name a creature, odds were in his favour that Aiden would know a fact or two about it. Blaise had casually compared Aiden to a Labrador puppy who had just been on his first walk without a leash, and Harry and Theo had broken out into laughter at the image.

Granger had also taken to following Harry and his friends around. With their permission, Harry had extended an offer to join the study group, but she had squeaked out a no and ran away. It was sudden and random and honestly Harry had no idea what even had happened. It did however lead to Theo and Blaise laughing at him much to his annoyance. 

The study group itself had expanded a bit both in the amount of students and in the amount of meetings, going from once a week to nearly three scheduled meetings and several irregular meetups. Vincent, preferred to be called Vinny, and Gregory, or Greg had both become regulars. Vinny, Harry and Neville were more often than not discussing Herbology with Neville taking the other two to the Greenhouses. Greg, Theo and Blaise were already ‘friends’ and would almost regularly tag along with the three Greenthumbs if only to talk loudly about them. Heir Greengrass, who demanded to be called Daphne, especially by ‘family’ had also joined them dragging along Davis, who was still rather cool towards Harry. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joined as well, in the form of Heir Bones, Abbott, and their muggleborn friend Justin Finch-Fletchley from the former and Terry, Michael, Anthony and Padma from the latter. But within the first two meetups, Finch-Fletchley had had a blow up about how everyone seemed to be Traditionalists and were being hurtful towards him. Harry was truly confused by this and could only watch as he had stormed out of the group, only Daphne seemed to understand what had happened however she smirked at anyone who asked. He was seen later studying with Granger though so Harry did not think much of it. It was noted by Harry that there was not a single Gryffindor in the group, which didn’t seem like much of a loss as ‘Ronnie’ and his friends Finnigan and Thomas were mostly bullies and ‘dunderheads’ as Sev had stated.

And that led to the final thing which was probably the weirdest of all was that Sev was avoiding him. It wasn’t obvious at first, and it was only really pointed out to Harry by Theo, who had noticed it was bothering Harry. How Harry hadn’t noticed he was upset, but Theo did, Harry had no idea, but after it was pointed out to him, Harry could not deny it. Usually Sev would issue at least two ‘detentions’ but it was already Friday, and Sev hadn’t issued a single one. Harry also tended to lag behind when potions was finished, but Sev almost immediately vacated his classroom once everyone had cleaned up to his satisfaction. The man was also rather closed off during meals as well, merely skimming the Ravenclaw table with a grimace and never focusing on Harry. It hurt Harry a lot more than he had expected and he was thankful that Theo and Blaise were there to support him, especially when he got all moody. 

It was all a bit too much for Harry, but unfortunately it was not the end of his suffering. The problem was simple: Harry had not sent a letter to Jack. At first Harry had meant to respond in the negative, both to the mentoring and to the Yule celebrations. Blaise had rather vehemently argued against this, angrily comparing it to chopping off his own fingers to spite someone else. It was Theo who pointed out to Harry that he couldn’t let his upsets towards his muggle family and being stuck with them and hold them against Jack and the rest of the Potters, particularly in concerns as to the abandoning a baby Harry. He claimed it was important to know if they had given up on him first, and if they did Theo was all for slamming the door in their faces. 

But a day turned into a few days which had turned into nearly a week and Harry had been unable to write a letter. The little voice in his head had begun spreading doubt to him, claiming he had insulted Jack by waiting too long and now it was too late and any letter he sent would just be thrown into a nearby fireplace. It had gotten a lot stronger in its reasoning and Harry barely even thought about it without his anxiety taking over.

“Enough is enough Harry.” Theo had cornered Harry in the Study with a bottle of ink and one of his fancy albatross feather quills. “It is not too late to respond to Minister Potter. In fact as standards go you probably are responding too early.” He practically threw the ink bottle into Harry’s hands and dragged him to a seat at the table. “Now write to the man!” After several minutes of being glared at by the other boy, Harry finally picked up the quill and wrote a letter, and then another, and another, and yes in fact three more. Blaise had become his editor and by the end of their free block had denied every single one of Harry’s drafts.

“Ugh, why is this so hard.” Harry muttered as he walked between the two in the halls on their way to Transfiguration.

“Because Hathaway, you have procrastinated too much, and now you are struggling to find your voice.” Blaise pompously exclaimed.

“It’s not like that though, I didn’t mean to procrastinate. It was just, every time I tried to write something I got all panicky. Nothing was good enough and I kept putting it off, and that feeling keeps getting worse and worse.” He had missed the look Theo and Blaise had shared behind his back. He did not however miss Blaise rudely opening his bag and stuffing his hand into it. “ What are you doing! Blaise get out.” 

Blaise of course ignored him and continued to scavenge until he found what he wanted and proudly held up a potions bottle. “ Aha, here, how many drops, Hamlet?” That made Harry realize he had claimed his calming draught that Sev had specifically tailored for him. Sev had gone out of his way to research and speak with several Healers and Mind Healers describing Harry’s symptoms and physique. They had helped create a potion for Harry to take daily. Harry was ashamed to admit he had stopped taking it throughout the week and it explained his mood swings quite a bit.

“Three Blaise.” Harry had muttered, hating how much he felt like a petulant child. Blaise had nodded, and drew out three drops with the pipette and offered it to Harry who shook himself and placed the drops on his tongue before he swallowed them. It wasn’t an instant cure-all, but he did start to feel better. This new potion was much better for Harry as it didn’t just numb everything like a standard calming draught. By the time they arrived at Professor McGonagall’s classroom it had cleared his head enough.

After three more classes and dinner, Harry had been dragged to his workstation in the Study, with a confused Neville in tow. Theo set up another ink bottle and quill, along with the fanciest parchment he and Blaise could find. Harry stared blankly at it for a bit, causing the other three boys to become bored and actually begin their own homework. 

Oddly enough, or rather not oddly at all, once they were not focusing on him, Harry began to write.

_ Dear Jack,  _

_ I must apologize for the rather late reply. I have had a lot to do and I took quite a bit of time to think about your offer. I am rather happy to accept both the mentoring and the invitation to celebrate Yule with our Family. I hope that we are able to get to know each other through these letters.  _

_ I also hope that we can begin with a discussion about what the Yule Celebrations will contain. I have read about the Rituals that the Potters have taken part in as well as our Traditions, however I would feel a lot better if I can know what to expect. Please let me know anything you feel is important. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Harry  _

No sooner had he finished than Blaise had absconded with the letter, quick reading it and muttering that it was probably the best they could expect. He quickly folded it and put it in an envelope. Quick as he could, Blaise ran out of the Study, and presumably to the Owlery, or more likely to their dorm room as Hedwig refused to leave Harry’s room except to fly and to hunt. Harry felt a bubble of laughter erupted from his chest and soon the boy had fallen off his chair in hysterics. 

*************************************************************************************************************

It was sometime later in the next week that Harry had gotten his reply. Hedwig had returned empty handed several days ago, and Harry had panicked a bit. Thankfully Blaise had taken his position as Healer seriously and made sure that Harry was regularly taking his dosage. So Harry was rather relaxed and excited when an unknown owl dropped a letter into his plate of scrambled eggs, and he was more than alright when the same owl stole some bacon before flying off. 

His happiness soon turned to rage though, and his magic responded in kind, as it reached out and shook the entire Great Hall, rattling all the silverware and plates on all the tables. He took a deep breath and gladly swallowed the potion that Blaise had handed him. Thankfully no one had noticed it was him who had caused the magical outburst, and the Headmaster was taking control, claiming that the Castle was settling. No one seemed to believe him though and rumours of a giant lurking outside, or worse another troll rumbling out in the hallways. Harry had turned and saw that Sev was looking intently at him, however the man looked away as soon as Harry met his gaze.

The other Professors soon chimed in and got the student body to claim down, granting them all a free period to settle down. No one wanted a jittery First Year to wave their wand around in Transfiguration or worse to make a deadly or dangerous potion accident. Harry took advantage of this and dragged Blaise with him to the Study.

“ So Hector, care to explain the problem?” Blaise raised one perfectly trimmed eyebrow. Harry sighed before he handed over his letter. It didn’t take long for Blaise to see what was wrong and even let out a slew of swears in Italian. “ This wasn’t sealed when you got it.” Harry nodded. “ That’s just. That’s just plain wrong, not to mention illegal.”

“ I know Blaise.” Harry took the letter back, and started to read it. 

“Harry you don’t understand. That was sealed with magic. Only a powerful Witch or Wizard could break through it. That or a high leveled Auror.” Blaise was dumbfounded at this massive breach of privacy.

“Blaise. I know this is a big deal, but it’s not something we can handle right now. Besides I’m almost willing to bet the entire Potter fortune I know who did it.”

“Dumbledore? Who am I kidding of course it’s Dumbledore.” 

Harry hummed in agreement before he turned his attention back to the letter.

_ Harry,  _

_ My dear Cousin, fret not. I am more than excited myself to learn that you wish to correspond with me. I have very little doubt that we will struggle to speak to each other. I am more than content to mentor you concerning our Family History.  _

_ I also very much agree that we should turn our attention towards our Family’s Yule Traditions. I can only presume that Granny Grimoire had given you a rather in depth and probably a bit outdated version of our Traditions. Firstly I have very little doubt that it mentions performing a sacrifice. Know that we do not do this. It is far too messy. That was a joke. Not that we don’t do the sacrifice, we don’t, but the messy bit. It was just to inhumane and it was my great grandparents who ended that Tradition. Instead we offer a bit of our Magic. It amounts to the same thing.  _

_ The main concern I would have is the collecting of the Yule Log and the Blessings bestowed upon it. Unfortunately it is the job of the Lord, their Spouse, and the Heir to do both tasks. Thankfully you will be allowed to bring two in place the Lord and Spouse when you hunt for the Yule log. The Blessing however will be solely based on you. We will not begrudge you if you choose a lighter, easier Blessing this year. I have attached several possibilities as I have no idea if Granny Grimoire has the updated version listed. If you have any more questions or concerns, reach out to me. I will send you another letter within the week to check up on you. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Minister for Magical Affairs of France Potter _

_ P.S The title is Magical and automatically appears whenever I sign my name. Sorry. _

_ P.S.S Expect a formal letter of invitation from the Greengrass Matron. Aunt Selina is very dramatic. _

Harry had finished and allowed Blaise to take the letter, thankful the other boy hadn’t just demanded it like he usually did. While Blaise was reading, an idea popped into Harry’s head and he rushed over to his bag while Blaise read and took out Granny Grimoire. It didn't take long for Harry to find what he wanted, and after he penned a response to Jack, Harry made sure to include his warning of tampered letters as well as writing down the Protection that Harry planned to use to stop said tampering. He found himself laughing as he read all the reactions that could happen if the person who was tampering refused to stop. 

It had caught Blaise’s attention midway through, and the boy waited patiently for Harry to explain.

“I can’t show you the actual spell as it’s a Potter Secret, but I can tell you what will happen to the Headmaster if he is the one to read my mail. Firstly it will cramp up their hands, causing pain to even flick a finger. It cannot be fixed with any known potion or spell. It will only stop if they do not mess with my mail for more than a month. If it continues the pain will flow up their arms as well.” A glimmer in Harry’s eyes had Blaise startled. “ The best bit is they can’t even break the seal, and the more they try the worse it gets.”

Blaise whistled in respect. “That’s one powerful Curse.”

“Protection.”

“What?”

“It’s a Protection not a Curse.”

Blaise had decided not to bother arguing. He knew a Curse when he heard one. However he did point out that if the Headmaster was affected it would be valid proof especially if it came to light that the Headmaster was reading mail from the Minister of Magic in France. Harry was the one to point out that he doubted the English Ministry would allow the French to persecute their Light Lord.

After a moment of two, Blaise agreed that Harry should place the ‘Protection’ and they used Hedwig to send the letter out.

*************************************************************************************************************

It was another week before anything remarkable happened to Harry. Sev was still avoiding them, the study group was doing well, along with Granger’s study group, which had added a few more students and was oddly enough always meeting up on the same days and the same times and nearby to Harry’s. 

Breakfast seemed to be the time of day that Harry would get interrupted. A massive raven flew into the Great Hall along with the owls, and beelined for Harry. It settled down on his shoulder surprising Harry with how light it was. It turned its head and stared at Harry with one eye, judging him. Harry felt a nagging feeling in his head, and he allowed it, feeling immediately it was the raven. She, for Harry gathered that much, was a beautiful bird and he subconsciously reached out to pet her. She allowed it thankfully and soon she was pushing back up against his hand demanding all the scratches.

“Her name is Duchess.” A voice behind him surprised him, and the raven, Duchess apparently, let out an angry squawk, before she held her leg out for Harry, apparently done with them. Harry took a letter from the expandable charm that was to the small bag attached to her leg. She let out a coo at Harry before she took flight and left the Great Hall.

“Sorry, Duchess doesn’t usually let anyone pet her, besides Grandmother that is.” Daphne was clearly stunned that Harry was able to pet the mean raven. Harry just smiled. He was rather used to animals liking him. Trevor was still known to jump out of Neville’s hands to be petted by Harry. Not to mention that Mr. Norris, the scourge of Hogwarts happily trailed after Harry mewing and purring whenever he reached out to her. Filch had at first been rather indignant, and claimed Harry had cursed her, but soon changed his tune whenever Mr. Norris would hiss at him when he complained. He also took to Harry begrudgingly as Harry told him that even though he was a Squib he had formed a Familial Bond to Mr. Norris. 

“She seemed nice though.” Harry was really in the mood to explain anything. Instead he reached out to the seal on the back of the letter, feeling a wave of magic almost testing him before the seal broke on its own. Harry carefully removed the card from the envelope and read it.

**Heir Harry James Potter**

**It is with great pride that the I, the Greengrass Matron, Selina Victoria Greengrass Nee Potter, extend this invitation to Fairhaven Manor to help celebrate the Yule Holidays with us. Both Potters and Greengrasses openly welcome you during this most joyous and festive time.**

**Please respond in a timely manner. You are allowed a plus one.**

**Sincerely, Matron Selina Victoria.**

“What does it say?” Blaise asked, earning a snorting laugh from Daphne, and a side glance from Harry.

“The invitation is charmed to only allow the recipient or another invited guest to read it.” Daphne explained, to which Blaise merely scowled in response. Harry was rather impressed by the charm work on the invitation, as he spread his magic into it and noted that that was not the only charm on it. He did not know what else was there but his magic let him know that nothing was harmful, well at least to him.

“How do I respond? “ Harry turned to Daphne. He was almost certain that a simple ‘I accept’ would not do. Surprisingly it was not Daphne or Blaise who spoke up by Theo, who had snuck up on them.

“With proper etiquette and a bit of pompousness. Matron Greengrass is known to be rather dramatic.” Both Blaise and Daphne nodded along to this and so Harry penned his response.

**Matron Selina Victoria Greengrass Nee Potter**

**I, Heir Apparent Harry James Potter, am most delighted to formally accept this invitation to Fairhaven Manor in honour of the Yule Celebrations. It fills my heart with joy to have Family reach out to me.**

**Please expect me and my plus one during this time. We will need separate accommodations as well.**

**Sincerely,**

**Heir Harry James Potter**

  
  


“Who are you taking as a plus one? “ Daphne asked as she read over his shoulder. Harry gave her a rather annoyed look causing her to back up a bit. He strongly disliked when anyone did that, excluding Blaise who he was used to. 

“I haven't decided yet. But I thought it best to leave the option open. It seemed better to arrive on my own than with someone that they hadn’t expected?” Daphne nodded, and was soon back at the Slytherin table, conversing with Davis and a few other Slytherin. 

“Who do you plan to bring?” Blaise asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way Hastings, but you really only are close to Theo and I and you cannot bring either of us.” Theo nodded in agreement.

“Why not?” Harry was a bit upset that they wouldn’t even allow him to invite them.

“Well, for me it’s because my father has already accepted a Family invitation from Lord Malfoy. As my father and he are allies, and the invitation extended to both myself and my brother, I don’t have much of a choice then to go.” Theo apologized. Harry understood, patting his arm and just letting it go. He did however turn his attention to Blaise who gave Harry his biggest ‘I know something you don’t know ‘ smile.

“I am afraid my mother has also accepted a Family invitation from a prominent Family. It would be rude of me not to attend that as well. The family has quite a few eligible members, and I believe my mother wishes to plan an arranged marriage.” He smiled at the other two, with Theo giving away nothing and Harry turning a bit pink at the idea of marriage. He was a bit thankful that as Heir Apparent he would be able to pick his own Spouse however at eleven he was definitely not ready for that.

Harry really did not know what he would do for his plus one. Neville was already going on a Holiday with his Gran to visit relatives in the States, and Blaise was right in claiming he was not close enough to anyone else. He had a month to decide though so he wasn’t as concerned as he probably should have been.

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“ I need to talk to Sev.” Harry muttered to Theo. It had been nearly a month since Sev had turned away from Harry and it was reaching a point where Harry was upset whenever he saw the man. It was not a good feeling when he had to sit in Sev’s class and be ignored. Theo nodded, and before Harry could even blink threw a few random ingredients into the potion they were working on. It was sudden and explosive, as the potion turned into a rather putrid smelling, vibrantly yellow foam that expanded outward to fill the space allotted by Harry’s shield charm. Harry let a sigh of relief fall out of him as the shield held, only to immediately regret it as Theo waved his wand over the shield and it faded away, causing the now red foam to flow freely. The duo backed away as pandemonium took off from the class and everyone rushed out of the room to avoid the putrid smell, Harry stunned by the growth also noticed that it seemed to be burning everything it touched. Thankfully before it could get too close to Harry, Sev had stepped between them and Vanished the foam. Harry was far too impressed by the destruction of the foam which had burned away the paper the boy had on the desk, and left dark black scorch marks on the desk chair and even the stone floor.

“Detention Mr. Potter.” Harry smiled at least he’d have a chance to talk to the man now. But just as he thought he’d thank Theo later Sev continued on. “ With Professor Flitwick.”

“But Sev, I mean Sir. Shouldn’t you hold the detention?” Harry asked more than a little upset that Sev was passing him off again.

“That will be two additional detentions with you Head of House Mr. Potter.” Professor Snape stared impassively down at him. “ I cannot afford to waste my time any longer.” Harry felt a lump in his throat and found himself unable to talk with the Potions Master. He had wanted to patch things up with the man, but he had no idea what else he could do. Quick as he could be packed up all his things, ignoring the mess and running to his dorm. It didn’t matter to Harry whether he had any more classes that day. He ignored his friends calling out his name as well as a demand from some professor Harry didn't have the patience to figure out, to stop running in the halls. Once in his room, he threw his stuff to the floor, jumped into his bed and charmed the curtains to stay closed. He pulled Saffron to his chest and found himself letting loose tears he hadn’t even realized he was holding on to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had hopes to have chapter 17 and chapter 18 up together, unfortunately Chapter 18 is in it's forth rewrite. I am sorry about the cliffhanger.


	18. Chapter 18: A Raven Is just As Clever As A Snake

Severus Snape was a proud man as well as being a lone wolf kind of person. With the death of his greatest friend in the world, Severus had given up on life. Most were not aware, in fact Severus doubted anyone still alive, but he and Albus knew he had been a spy for the man since he graduated from Hogwarts. Most believed he had turned ‘traitor’ to the Dark Lord much later in the war. 

He also doubted that anyone, even Albus, was aware that Severus had made up with Lily, and had forgiven James. Only the three of them were aware that Severus had regularly visited them in Godric's Hollow and had held and played with a rather rambunctious baby by the name of Harry Potter. It was James that told him that they had placed Severus on their list of guardians for Harry should anything happen to them. He was after the mutt and the wolf, but before Minerva and James’ Cousin Jack. It was all laid out in their Wills that Albus had collected, claiming he would bring it to the Goblins to be Declared. Severus had stared dumbfounded at his former school rival.

He was the first to their home when it had happened. A sharp pain took over his arm while he was making himself a small dinner. It was far worse than the day that the Dark Lord had Marked him, and Severus watched in horror as the Mark bled a black liquid. Eventually the Mark faded. It was still there, but now a muted grey as opposed to the dark black from before. After taking a painkiller and a calming draught, the dour young man Apparated directly to the Cottage. James was lying dead at the foot of the stairs, his wand falling inches from his hand. He hesitated up the stairs, terrified to see what he would find, however he rushed up to the nursery as soon as he heard the crying of a baby. It was there that he found Lily, dead at the foot of the crib. Severus fell to his knees before her, letting a small cry escape from his mouth. He almost reached out to grab her when his attention was brought to the child in the crib, who had stopped crying and upon seeing Severus let out a loud thrilled scream.

Apologizing to Lily, Severus stood up and took little Harry out of the crib. The boy latched on to the man’s robes and pulled himself as close as he could with his small arms. Severus bounced him around a bit, his mind racing at what he needed to do. Unfortunately the man was still in a state of shock and not able to think quickly. The slamming of the front door, and another man crying out “JAMES” from below had Severus panicking. He placed Harry tenderly back into his crib and disillusioned himself falling back into the corner of the room just as the mutt ran in. The mutt completely ignored Lily and went right to Harry who was in fact smiling directly at the pot the invisible Severus stood. For a moment Severus watched the mutt bounce around the baby and tried to ignore his strange mumblings, but soon he made his exit.

It was nearly two weeks later that Severus was arrested by a group of Aurors and thrown into a cell in Azkaban without much ado. Severus refused to even think about the awfulness of his time there. Nearly a month and Severus still believed he never truly recovered from the Dementor’s passive torture. He thankfully had been taken out for his trial, and true to Albus’ word he was freed after the older man had vouched for him as a spy. His gratitude for the man was soon washed away though, as together the left the courtroom and Albus flooed the two of them into his office.

“Severus, my boy, it is great to see you doing so well.” He was not doing well, he was dirty, and tired. His hair was raggedly and loose and he had a matching beard to boot. The poor young man was also cold and shaking heavily. “We have much to talk about. Firstly I must apologize for leaving you in Azkaban for too long. Much has happened in so little time.”

Severus found himself stunned at learning it was the mutt who had betrayed James and Lily, and that he had killed the damned rat as well. He was not too surprised to know that the wolf was in fact still a coward and had run off to the Continent after the news. He was also stunned to learn that Harry was in hiding with his muggle family. When Severus asked about the Potters’ Will, Albus shook his head.

“There were no Wills my Boy.” He stared at Severus. Thankfully he was sane enough to realize that even the most minute response would have Albus questioning things that Severus did not want the meddling old man to know. “ But perhaps we should get to the meat of the meeting? I wish for you to take the position of Potions Professor here at Hogwarts.”

“Whatever for Albus?” Severus had given nearly three years of his life to spying for the man and he had every intention of fleeing this cursed place as soon as he could. He even had plans to hunt down and take Harry with him. If the muggle relative Albus claimed to had left Harry with was Petunia he could only think of what that boy would be put through.

“Voldemort is not gone. The proof of that, before you ask, is on your arm, and on the arms of all his Death Eaters.” Albus claimed solemnly. “I have also performed several Rituals proving him to be in the form of a spirit.” A glimmer appeared in his eyes. “As well, I have checked and the orb containing the Prophecy is still active. As you know it would be dormant if it had been completed. No, I am very much afraid that Voldemort shall return and we must prepare.”

Thus began the new chapter in Severus’ life, that of the Dungeon Bat. the scorn of all who were not Slytherins. Albus believed that his position as a spy could be salvaged if Severus were to be cruel and demeaning to all that were not supportive of the Dark Lord. So he did. Severus severely doubted it would work, however he realized how stupid people truly were as several of the Dark Lord’s followers who had escaped prosecution reached out to him for favours and help. His project of finding Harry had not stopped either and for the next six years the man used all forms of favours and debts he had collected to find even a hint of the boy’s location. Unfortunately nothing ever turned up. Petunia Evans had disappeared like magic. Still he remained diligent in his search.

Perhaps it was fate, or just one of the Gods above making a mockery of him when the boy quite literally fell into his lap. To say that Severus was surprised to find the boy under a table in a library having a severe panic attack would be utterly underestimating his emotional roller coaster. Joy at having found him, sadness at seeing Harry so broken, and anger as he learned what Petunia was doing to her nephew. 

For the next three years or so, Severus helped to care for Harry, both in body and mind. Potions to help him grow and get healthier, and information to help him learn. It was not nearly enough time but Severus had become so amazed at the change in Harry in that time frame. The dour, lone wolf of a man had finally found someone he truly and honestly cared for. It would be wrong to assume Severus had not realized how close they had become, but as a spy, it was best if he could put distance between them. Just because it was for the best though, it was not meant to be, and their relationship had grown stronger even in the halls of Hogwarts, and he found himself so proud as Harry was in the top three of the First Years. 

Aggie had claimed Severus was acting like a proud parent when he had sent her Harry's results. That had caused the man to pause and reevaluate how he saw himself and Harry. He pondered over it for several days before he came to the realization that she was correct. Severus viewed Harry much as a father would view their son. It was when Harry was in a rage at Draco and the Potter girl that Severus knew Harry was as close to him as he was to the boy. To not even look at the potion handed to him and immediately just drink it. That kind of trust, especially from a boy raised in an abusive household, was astounding. 

From there Severus began a new plan to take him away from Petunia. Unfortunately he was too entrenched in the pockets of the Headmaster. Bringing Harry into his household would just give Albus a whole new level of control. Honestly besides packing their possessions fleeing the country. Severus had no plausible way to help Harry. So Severus continued to plot and plan, seeking input with Aggie, who’s idea was to simply move into the muggle world. Severus considered it, however after watching how much Harry enjoyed magic, and how close he was to his friends, that solution created more problems than it solved.

But then Samhain happened, and a day later A man who looked just like James Potter came barreling into the Great Hall. The look of Harry’s face when he saw the man, made even worse when he heard that he was a Potter, had created a heavy feeling in his stomach. When they were all rushed into Albus' office to listen to Potter pick apart Albus for the harm done to his child, Severus knew that this was the man who could fight for Harry, and that feeling in his stomach filled his chest as well. Severus had ignored Albus’ justifications and patronizations and he noted that Potter also ignored everything the man stated, further cementing that the man was the better option for Harry. Severus didn't even make a comment when Potter demanded Albus’ allow him to meet with Harry.

Disillusioned, Severus followed Filius, Harry and Potter as they made their way to Filius’ office. He snuck himself into the office just as Filius left and put the privacy charms in place. He stood in the corner, not really listening, just watching to see how they interacted. Almost immediately Harry took to the older Potter, and the final nail was hammered into the coffin. Severus knew that Potter was the better option, the safer option. From that point on Severus vowed to pull away from Harry. It was too late for Severus, he was too close to the boy, but hopefully Harry wasn’t The boy was resilient, he would jump back. After all it was for the best.

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Harry was not handling the loss of Sev. For the next couple of days, the boy walked around in a fog, doing anything mechanically and without any real thought. He was aware things were happening but he couldn’t connect the actions to himself. It was like he was watching everything from a screen. He knew he was worrying his friends, and even Professors Flitwick and McGonagall gave him concerned looks, with the Charm Master attempting to talk with Harry on at least two separate occasions.

Both times, Heir Potter’s mechanical responses had Filius very concerned. Over the next week or so Filius had noticed that Heir Potter’s grades were dropping. Normally the boy’s grades were mostly O’s peppered with EE’s, now his homework was regularly A’s and while that was still a decent grade, it was abnormal for Heir Potter. As a concerned Head, he made his way to the offices of his fellow Professors to discuss the trend in the boy’s grades, and was more than a bit concerned when all of them had commented on the same thing happening. It was when he made his way from Severus’ office that Filius had an epiphany. He had been recounting his conversations with the man, and things just did not seem to add up. Once in his office, he decided to put the entire memory in a Pensieve. He took a moment to relax before dipping his head in the bowl.

  
  


“Severus, do you have a moment? I need to ask you some questions concerning one of my Claws.” Filius had knocked and waited for a reply before he entered, immediately speaking, knowing that Severus hated wasting time.

“Which of your little know-it-alls is struggling Filius.” Came the reply from the dark clothed man. He was quite plainly correcting essays as his quill was dripping with red ink.

“Now Severus, is that any way to speak about the best House in the school?” 

“Filius, you think you can lie so blatantly to me?” Severus let out a small snort of amusement, before grimacing. “Perhaps it is a coincidence, but I am only now correcting your First Year’s essays. It is safe to assume that the student you wish to air concerns about is one of them?”

“Why yes it is. A rather fortuitous moment if I do say so myself.” Filius smiled brightly. “ Have you perhaps done Mr. Potter’s assignment yet?” Looking back on this Filius noticed this was the first piece of evidence. Severus’ spine had stiffened, and it took a moment for him to shuffle back through the graded essays.

“Ah yes Mr. Potter, what has he done now? Has he filed a complaint on the methods I use to grade such deplorable essays?” There was no heat in his words, Filius noted.

“No, no nothing like that, I can assure you.” He shook his head vehemently.” While the memory Filius was speaking of his observations about Heir Potter’s negative performance, the current Filius walked to the other side of the desk to watch Severus more closely. As the memory played out and Severus listened to all of Harry’s problems, Filius saw that behind the desk and out of his sight previously, Severus’ hands were shaking. A closer look also led Filius to notice that Severus was grimacing and grinding his teeth. It was not in the usual bored or annoyed manner to which Severus usually displayed, but more of a manner of some who is resisting in an action. 

“Yes, well it all seems to stem from that day several weeks ago, when Rolanda saw him running down the halls, and when he skipped two of his classes. He received five detentions that day, three of which were from you. Did you notice anything in his behaviour that was especially out of place? I know you are hard on the students, but the justification of a blotched potion did not seem worthy of three, and when I attempted to tell him that he only needed to sit through one, he had given me a bland look informing me he would sit through all three.”

This was the point that had thrown Filius off in the first place and he was glad he thought enough to rewatch this memory. A moment of agony appeared on the stoic face, gone in a flash. But Filius had caught it both times. He ignored the words that Severus threw at him, noting that the man’s voice wavered several times before he managed to kick Filius out of his office.

The memory ended and Filius found himself back in his office. “Curious, very curious.” Without a second thought Filius summoned two pieces of parchment and wrote out requests for two students to come to his office in twenty minutes. He waved his wand and the parchments folded themselves into birds and flew off in pursuit of their targets. Filius sighed he was getting a migraine, he hoped that the two boys would have the answers Filius needed.

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Theo was in the Study alone when Professor Flitwick’s note arrived. It waited patiently as Theo finished the last of his essay. Once done Theo turned his attention to it, unfolding it and reading the contents. Theo knew almost instantly that the summons was not concerning him, but because of Harry. Theo could only hope this would be productive.

Blaise was sitting on his bed staring at the closed curtains of his friend’s bed. He really hated how closed of Harry had become. It hurt Blaise to no end seeing his friend in so much pain that he just shut down. The fluttering of paper wings drew him out of his thoughts, and when it landed on his pillow, Blaise quickly unfolded it and read its contents. He turned his attentions back to the closed off bed, maybe. Just maybe there was hope.

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Harry found himself just after dinner being dragged by his two friends towards an unknown destination. He didn’t really have much energy, and just wished the duo would let him go back into the safety of his bed. Classes were over and he didn’t understand why he was still moving around. 

“Just a bit more Harry.” Theo urged on. “Professor Flitwick wants to talk with you.”

Harry stifled another sigh. He just wanted to be left alone. He was tired and upset and as much as a very small bit of him was grateful that his Head of House was concerned, the rest of him was annoyed at not being left alone. ‘ _ It should be shot at least. The last meeting was nearly half as long as the first one.’ _ Voices from down the hall pulled Harry from his thoughts.

“- have much to attend to Filius. Thank you for shining a light on the issues that one of my Slytherins is having. I shall invest more time in the Common Room. Hopefully this will prompt her to reach out to me.” Harry flinched at the voice, and only moved forward because Theo and Blaise had practically thrown him into the office. “ Now if you excuse me I -” Professor Snape’s words broke off as he saw Harry stumble into the office.

“Ahhh, thank you boys. We can handle it from here.” Professor Flitwick joyfully told Harry’s friends, who both nodded and left the room. The door closed quickly and Harry felt the locking and privacy wards form over it. “Now Master Snape, I must apologize, it is not purely because of your Slytherin that I called you here.” Harry had slipped as close to the door as he could, his magic testing it. Professor Flitwick wasn’t even sure if he was aware he was doing it. His face was just as despondent as it had been.

“Perhaps this is something that should be between Mr. Potter and myself, Professor Flitwick.”  Professor Snape attempted.

“Unfortunately, I must insist I be here. This is concerning the health of one of my Claws, Master Snape. I am sure you can understand.” Professor smiled at the dour man before him. “ Would it help to learn that I had heard a rather interesting story about you two, from well, from the two students who just left.” A sudden tremor shook the short professor’s office, his supplies on his desk and the medals on his wall shaking ominously. “ it seems that you two have known each other for a long time? Knowing each other even before you were sent to help Heir Potter in Diagon Alley?”

_ ‘ They told someone!’  _ Harry barely holding his anger in.  _ ‘They actually bloody told one of my secrets to Professor Flitwick.’  _ The trembling in the office got much worse. Okay so maybe he didn't have control of his anger. Professor Flitwick looked at him with a kind smile on his face. Professor Snape however looked at him with a look of pure shock.

“They didn’t have the right!” Rage had taken over, and the boy boy shook nearly as much as the office was. A small part, the quiet part of Harry’s mind was rather amazed that nothing had fallen over or shattered. Tears of frustration filled his eyes, and his knuckles turned white with stress as they formed fists. A copper taste filled his mouth as he found himself biting his tongue so as to not scream. The tremors became stronger, and Professor Snape struggled to remain standing. Nothing else fell over and Professor Flitwick continued to smile as he remained safely in his chair.

“Mr. Potter! You need to calm down now.” Professor Snape informed Harry sternly. Unfortunately Harry was too hurt and angry to actually listen. His magic was still out of control and the room was heavy with it. “Mr. Potter.” Professor Snape tried again, as he struggled to take a few steps towards him. “Harry, I need you to calm down now.” He managed to rest his hands on the shoulder of the trembling boy, however he almost pulled them back as the boy’s magic pushed itself onto him. With great difficulty, Professor Snape knelt down in front of Harry, forcing Harry to be looking directly in his face. “Harry I’m here. It’s okay.” He hesitated a moment before pulling the boy against him, wrapping him in a tight hug. His magic continued to push up against the man, however it was not painful, so Sev gritted his teeth and took it. 

One second Harry’s magic enveloped the entire room pushing down on everything, even causing Professor Flitwick to lose his smile for a moment, before it suddenly swept back into the boy. Sev felt it as Harry’s core pulled it all back in. almost instantly the angry boy was gone, and sobs racked the small boy’s body. Harry wrapped his arms around Sev and cried into his shoulder.

Professor Flitwick turned his attention away from the pair, eyes checking everything in the room, making sure nothing had broken or fallen over. His attention landed on a frame that had fallen over from a bookcase. “Missed one.” He muttered, waving his wand to send it back into place. He paused for a moment, eyeing the pair before flicking his wand again at the frame.

“Shhhh, Harry I have you.” Sev continued to rub circles against his back. Harry’s sobs relenting to light sniffling and quiet tears. “ It’s okay.” He pulled one hand away, reaching into his pocket to pull out of one his stronger calming draughts. He didn’t want to give it to the boy as it would muddle his throughs, and they clearly needed to speak.

“No, i don’t want it.” Harry pushed the bottle away. “ We need to speak, and if I take it, I'll be out for too long.” He reluctantly pulled himself out of Sev’s embrace. On trembling legs, Harry walked to the nearest chair and sat down, and without much thought, wandlessly summoned another chair next to him. A gasp, had Harry turn to Professor Flitwick, and the boy turned red with embarrassment .

“Harry it’s fine. Professor Flitwick has seen and dealt with much worse. It is part of the trade when being a Head.” Sev’s gave a mild glare at the other Professor, who took the hint and made no comment at the display of power the eleven year old had just given. “Now he wishes to be here, because he was concerned for you. Unfortunately, I failed in that aspect and I am grateful he has tried to aide you.”

Harry was still embarrassed but, he shook himself a bit and focused instead on Sev. “You called me a waste of your time.”

A grimace was Sev’s only response. Harry braced himself for the worse. “I am truly sorry.” Sev frowned as he saw the look of surprise on the boy’s face in response to his apology. “ As much as I wish I could claim otherwise, I am not a paragon of mental health.” He held up a hand, as if expecting to be interrupted. “It is not an excuse, but rather an explanation as to why I pulled away.” He purposely made eye contact with Harry. “ I had come to a realization, Harry. Or rather, I let myself believe that you were better off without me. Seeing Minister Potter walking in and seeing you and him connect, my mind created this idea that you would move on to your real family and forget about me. I made choices from there, incorrectly believing it would be for the best and the least painful solution, if I were to step out of your life and allow you to move on.” 

Sev had no idea what to expect from Harry. He was feeling rather vulnerable and a part of him wanted to flee, however he prided himself on never running. He was rather taken back as Harry threw himself at him.

“You're an idiot Sev.” Harry glared at him. “Why would I ever forget about you? After everything that you and Aggie have done for me?” He stared Sev down, and was mildly happy to see the morally impassive man flinch. “We have more to talk about, I think. But Sev, even if my parents came back from the dead, even if they walked in from that door right now and asked me to come back to them, I wouldn’t leave without you.”

Sev felt a lump in his throat and embarrassingly coughed, pulling Harry closer.

“Well, I am glad that we have reached an agreement gentlemen.” Professor Flitwick was rather sad to have to cut them short, however there was little doubt that the Headmaster had not noticed the tremors and was no doubt investigating as they spoke. “ I believe that we are running against the clock.” Sev nodded, realizing the same thing for himself. He separated from Harry, and wiped a few wrinkles from his robe before turning his full attention to Professor Flitwick.

“I am sorry Filius, however I very much need an Oath from you, or If you prefer, I could Obliviate you.” Harry was a bit upset with the part of him that almost wished the Professor would have just done it.

“I understand Master Snape.” The tip of his wand glowed a vibrant purple as he proclaimed his oath. “ I, Filius InkClaw Flitwick, by my voice and my magic give an Oath to speak not the secrets given to me pertaining Heir Potter and Master Snape.” The purple light wrapped itself gently around the Professor. Sev waited for a moment before nodding again. He swept away, heading towards the door.

“Oh and Mr. Potter.” Harry turned his attention to him. “ detention tonight, for vandalizing a Professor’s office.” Harry followed his line of sight to see the broken glass in the frame that had fallen over. 


	19. Chapter 19: Conversation, Confrontation, Confusion

Harry felt like he had traded being avoided by Sev, for avoiding Blaise and Theo. After several much needed discussions with Sev, Harry was no longer angry with the dup, however he was still very much upset and felt betrayed For the next week or so Harry spent most of his time with either Sev, much to the man’s joy (he would never admit this, even to Harry), the Weasley Twins, or Neville and Aiden. He had all but abandoned the Study as Blaise and Theo were almost always there, but thankfully Hogwarts was more than happy to show Harry several abandoned classrooms and secret tunnels and passages. 

The Twins were more than happy to have Harry join him as he seemed to be brimming with ideas for pranks. Harry had no idea what they would do with his idea to put a repulsing rune and an attracting rune on opposite ends of a rod like a magnet, and he definitely should not have come up with the idea of placing charms on the threshold of a doorway that would change the colour of the person clothing, or skin, or hair. 

Neville and Aiden were alright to be with as well, however Neville was almost always talking about plants, and as much as Harry would attempt to get the other boy to discuss other things, it just never seemed to work out. Aiden, well Aiden was incredibly excitable, and would drag Harry and Neville to the farthest reach of the school only to marvel at a crack in the wall, or a random bug that had flown by. Harry was secret dreading having to be stuck with him during the twelve days of Yule.

But nearing the end of the week, it was once again Professor Flitwick who had stepped in and set Harry straight. So once again, Harry found himself in the small Professor’s office. 

“Now Heir Potter, I normally don’t put too much input into the personal lives of my students, however I’ve noticed that you have been avoiding Mr. Zabini and Heir Nott.” Professor Flitwick gave Harry a kind smile. “ But I do feel like I am perhaps to blame, or at least partially. Honestly I had hoped that you would work this out on your own, but after a discussion with Master Snape, we both have decided that I must intervene.” Harry tried to interrupt, he really didn’t want to be there at the moment, but the Professor denied him. “ Heir Potter, you must understand, your friends really did not tell me anything that i was not already aware of. They merely confirmed my speculation concerning your relationship with Master Snape.” He was happy to note that he had the boys full attention now. “ I’ve noticed this year that Master Snape has behaved differently. Normally, the man pays very little attention when it comes to students from other Houses. Now that is not to say he is negligent, but whenever we have staff meetings and discuss those that are not Slytherin, Master Snape tends to ignore the conversation, only inserting his statements when it is necessary. Now however, whenever your name is mentioned, and it is mentioned quite a lot, mostly good do not worry. Anyways, when your name is mentioned, Master Snape snaps to attention. It is rather subtle if one were to look for it, they would see it.”

“ Do you think the He- I mean anyone else has noticed?” Harry was rather worried now. He was tempted to get up and run to Sev, but Harry knew it was important to know the facts then to just assume them.

“Uh, I believe that Master McGonagall suspects something, whether it is your closeness, or perhaps, like I gather, everyone is expected to believe his irrational hatred towards you. Professor Sprout has no given no inclination to have noticed, but she tends to stay out of what is not her business.” Professor Flitwick seemed to ponder for a moment before voicing his next thought. “ As for Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe that that man only sees what he wants to see. He is quite apt at that and seems quite happy whenever Master Snape mutters about you having another detention with him or whenever he complains about you.”

Harry couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. It was one of his greatest fears that the Headmaster would find out, and take Sev away from him.

“I feel we may have gotten a bit off topic though. Heir Potter, both of your friends were reluctant to tell me anything. It was only after I admitted to suspecting that you and Master Snap were close that they both admitted to it, and they only did it to help you. Great friends are difficult to find, and I believe you have a pair right there”

Soon after the meeting ended and Harry had a lot to think about. Lost in his thoughts he soon found himself just outside the Study. Unsure of where or not it was his subconscious or the magic of Hogwarts that led him there. He did think about turning around and hiding in Sev’s office until dinner. But he steeled himself instead, took a deep breath, and opened the door. 

He really wasn't surprised that the duo were in fact studying there .It seems like they had claimed it in their ‘divorce’.” It took a moment for the duo to realize that Harry had entered, and he absently thought they should think about putting in a single of sorts to alert them when someone entered. It was an awkward staring contest between the three, before Harry muttered a weak hello.

“Oh we talking again?” It was surprisingly Theo that made the offhand comment. He had turned his attention back to the book and missed the look of hurt that flashed across Harry’s face. Blaise hadn’t though, and motioned for Harry to come sit with them. They smaller boy did however it was even more awkward as they sat in silence. Blaise seemed to kick Theo under the table a few times before the other boy bothered to look up with a small glare. “ What? The prat ignores us for a week, and now he’s here to pretend that nothing happened?” 

“ I came uhh, to apologize.” Harry meekly let out, he really wanted to turn tail and run. It had the desired effect and both Blaise and Theo turned their undivided attention to him. 

It led to a bit more awkward silence before Blaise gave a small frustrated sigh. “ Why are you sorry Harry?”

“ Oh uh, because I abandoned you two. It was rude and not at all what a friend should have done.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “ I just when Professor Flitwick told me that you guys let one of my biggest, personal secrets out, I was admittedly rather angry. But after several conversations with Sev, it mostly just left me sad and betrayed. I mean you guys are my best friends and you just let something like that out.” Blaise tried to speak, but Harry continued his rambling. “ And I know I should have come to you two and listened to you and tried to understand what had actually happened, but it was just too much for me and I turned coward and ran. It was only just now, after Professor Flitwick explained to me what really happened, that he was the one to connect the dots and you two had only given him the final bit of confirmation he needed.” He took a deep breath and stood up. Bowing deeply to his friends he apologized formally. “I, Heir Harry James Potter, do apologize under the eyes of Magic.” He remained bowed after finishing, waiting for Blaise or Theo to make the next move.

Suddenly two pairs of arms grabbed him into a giant hug and Harr blushed at the contact. It was a rather long hug and Harry just let himself enjoy the close proximity to his friends. It was awkward, or at least Harry when they finally let go and the trio sit back down. 

“ We’re sorry to Harry.” Theo started, but Blaise took over. “ We both didn’t really think what it would mean to tell Professor Flitwick about Sev being your ‘papa’. “ His smirk said it all to Harry, and he wondered if it was too soon after his apology hit him over the bed with a book. 

Theo started over, and glared at Blaise, who mimed zipping his mouth shut. “ We are sorry Harry. But we watched to spiral down into such a bad state and we are only eleven. Nothing we could think to do would work, and when Professor Flitwick summoned us, I’m sorry to say I, that is we both jumped at the chance to help you.” Harry just accepted it, and after a few more moments of talking the trio called it a day and packed up to head to their Common Rooms.

*************************************************************************************************************

End of term exams were rather mean, in Harry’s opinion, and especially Sev’s. The evil man had informed his classes that the practical exam would be to brew two of the three potions that they had made earlier in the term, not mentioning which, adding that the final potion would be represented in the written portion. He further claimed that all students would have a different combination. The other Professors all explained that their exams would rely heavily on the written part. First Years it seemed were more written than practical and much of his fellow First Years were heard grumbling about that. 

Just before the exams were set to begin, Harry received a summons from the Headmaster asking him to visit his office sometime during the day. Much to Harry’s horror Professor Flitwick was too busy to go with him, and Harry refused to go on his own. His next thought was to find Sev, but that would not have ended well. Harry didn’t want to know the repercussions for not going to see the Headmaster and in his panic, he settled on asking Professor McGonagall.

After handing her the note, Harry witnessed an amazing site of several emotions running over the normally calm Professor. She muttered a bit about ‘Albus’ before accepting.

“Well Mr. Potter, when were you hoping to go?”

“Whenever you are ready Professor, since you are the one taking time to come with me.”

She gave him a stiff smile, that he did not take personally, knowing that the Professors were just as stressed as the students were during exams. “Yes, well it is our duty as Professors to help our students, and seeing as how Professor Flitwick is busy fixing his tr-ah seeing as how he is otherwise occupied, I am more than willing to step up for him. Especially for one of my students who is the child of two of my former Gryffindors. “ Her smile turned fond as she spoke. “ Well let’s be off then. I am sure that the Headmaster would not want to be kept waiting, nor do I feel he would take up much of your time studying for nonsense.”

It was a rather short journey from the Deputy Headmistress’ Office to the Headmaster’s, but somehow, Professor McGonagall managed to fit in quite a few stories of his parents during their Hogwarts years, and Harry happily listened to them. When they reached the Gargoyle, Professor McGonagall gave the password, muttering in annoyance how the note had not given Harry it.

“Ah my boy, and Professor McGonagall as well.” The wrinkle dimmed in his eyes as he saw the stern Gryffindor walk in behind Harry. Harry was finding a bit of sick joy in seeing that twinkle fade every time. “ Well Professor McGonagall, I appreciate you escorting young Harry here, but our conversation will be rather short, and I know that you much like everyone else is busy. I see no reason as to why you need to stay.”

“While I am grateful for you offer Headmaster, Mr. Potter has asked me to stay, and seeing as Professor Flitwick is otherwise occupied-” She raised an eyebrow at the Headmaster “- I am more than willing to take his place.”

“Ah yes, that is fine as well.” The Headmaster sat back down and offered them both some hard candies, with both refusing. “ Well Harry, my boy, it has come to my attention that you have not signed up to stay at Hogwarts for the winter break.” He gave his best impression of a grandfather he could and stared at Harry. 

Harry however was very much not impressed and sent a small glare at the Headmaster. He was about to speak but Professor McGonagall started first. “ Really, Headmaster, we are concerning ourselves with students NOT staying with us for the break now?”

“ My family has plans for the Holidays, Headmaster, plans that include me being home with them.” Harry informed him, giving as little information as possible.

“I know Harry, I know. However as your Magical Guardian, your safety is my first concern. As such, I have taken the liberties of speaking with some members of the Department of Magical Transportation and have made it clear that you are blacklisted from and forms of international transport.” The glimmer had returned and Harry felt his blood begin to boil at the severe overreach the Headmaster was attempting. It only got worse with the next statement. “ Also, they will inform me of any forms of Magical Transport you do in England.”

“Really Albus,” Harry could tell how much it bothered her as she fell out of formalities. “ You cannot just do something like that! You’re treating the boy like a criminal!”

“ It is for his safety. I would much rather Harry would stay with us this Holiday season.” In Fat the man was brash enough to slide over a form and a quill. Harry barely looked at it, but noticed it was a form claiming he would stay during the Holidays. You merely have to sign this my boy.”

“ As I stated before, I have plans with my family, Headmaster. Thankfully they are muggles, so any ‘transporting’ we do will be muggle related.” He was rather smug as that dimmed the twinkle.

“Well Headmaster, I think if that is all, I shall escort Harry back to his Common Room.” It was rather quick and abrupt, but the two had left the Headmaster’s Office before he even had a chance to say anything. “ Well Mr. Potter, I do not understand what game that man is playing, but I simply cannot abide by such extremes. There isn’t much  _ I  _ can do however. He is your Magical Guardian. “ She pursed her lips a bit. “ But the  _ Dursleys _ are your Legal Guardians, and they supersede him. Perhaps if a letter landed on my desk, and a few other desks from a  _ Legal Guardian _ , claiming a student was more than welcome to come home, it would stop any games the Headmaster might attempt.” She gave him a small smile before taking her leave.

Harry took to heart her comments and spoke with Sev about the likelihood of his Aunt or Uncle actually sending a letter accepting him home, especially when Uncle Vernon had yelled at him to not return during the Holidays. It was decided that it was worth the risk and Harry soon penned a letter to his Aunt. He was very much surprised to receive a response the next day. He was even more surprised by its contents and quite a bit suspicious. He brought it to Sev almost immediately who did quite a few charms on it to confirm it was authentic, or as authentic as could be from a muggle. Hedwig was insulted at the claim it was fake, and Harry gave her a lot of treats to make up for it. Harry still could not believe the letter and found himself reading it again in the safety of Sev’s office.

_ Dear Harry, _

_ You are more than welcome to come home for Christmas! Your Uncle and I miss you dearly, and there is not doubt that Duddikins will be less bored with you around. Your Uncle will be at the train station right on the doubt so please do not be late. We are excited to have you home with us. _

_ Love, _

_ Auntie Petunia _

  
  


Harry was extremely suspicious that his Aunt had taken a hit to her head. But Harry was more than happy to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and made his copies to hand to all the Heads of Houses and the Headmaster himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, It was meant to be added to the last chapter, which was running to long, but it doesn't fit into the next chapter. Felt like it was still needed though.


	20. Chapter 20: Making Their Way Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of panic attacks, as well as ways to help calm them. These examples are my own personal solutions that help me, so take them with a grain of salt.
> 
> Mentions of child abuse, as well as holding someone prisoner in inhumane conditions. Petunia and Vernon suck.
> 
> This is the Monday the November 30th chapter. I have an early day tomorrow so I can't just upload at midnight like a usually do.

Blaise had diligently served Harry his dosage of calming draught even before they got on the Hogwarts Express. Professor McGonagall was correct, and with a copy of his Aunt’s letter in the hands of all four Head of Houses, even when the Headmaster’s copy had ‘disappeared’, the Headmaster had no reasonable way to stop Harry from getting on the train. It didn’t stop the powerful wizard from following his students to the landing in Hogsmeade, to which several upperclassmen muttered about the oddity of that. It also did not seem to stop the man from giving Harry his most ‘disappointed grandfather’ look. Harry responded with a giant grin and got on the train before he could press his luck even more. He certainly did not miss the poorly concealed laugh from Professor Flitwick, who had also made the journey down to bid his students a Merry Yule or Happy Christmas.

It wasn’t long before his anxiety burned away the potion in his system though, and Blaise was reluctant to give him another dose, claiming he needed to wait at least three hours before doses. Neville, who had left his fellow Puffs, joined Harry Theo and Blaise in their own compartment. Saffron had wrapped herself around Harry’s neck, her tail hanging quite a bit. She had grown about three more centimeters since coming to Hogwarts and she was fiercely proud of it. The other boys spoke about nothing at all, just saying anything and anything. This was mostly because Harry had once told Neville in passing, how quietness made his anxiety worse when he was having an episode and Theo had taken his hand and would give him a gentle squeeze every so often. A habit Theo picked up after noticing that a simple touch would help Harry ground him. It warmed Harry to know that his three closest friends each had their own way of showing they cared for him.

The final thing that was helping to keep Harry relaxed even had his anxiety threatened it’s ugly head, was the heavy metal-chained bracelet on his right wrist. It hummed with Sev’s magic, and Harry couldn't help thinking about how it was the best gift ever.

***Flashback***

“I have something for you.” Sev reached into the draw of his desk and pulled out a small box. He seemed to hesitate before he handed it to a confused Harry.

“You got me a gift? But it’s not Yule yet.”

“Yes it’s a gift, but no it’s not for Yule. I have amassed quite a few other presents for you during Yule.” His response had Harry’s cheeks turning red. He wasn’t used to getting presents, let alone talking about them. “ I perhaps could claim this is more of a security feature than a gift. Open it.”

Harry nodded, a bit distracted at the shiny blue and silver paper, happy at the gentle nod to his House colours. He slowly unwrapped the box and hesitated a moment before opening the box itself. A simple silvery bracelet rested on a soft blue velvety material. Harry couldn’t help but give Sev a confused look.

“Yes it is a bracelet, and yes, I do realize you are not a girl.” He didn’t have to read the boy’s mind to know what he was thinking. “ Jewelry is not restricted by gender in the Wizarding World. You have no doubt noticed the many rings the Headmaster wears, or how many of the older boys have their ears pierced or have a necklace of sorts. Metals and gemstones have the marvelous capability of storing magic within them. Most contain some form of protective magic on it, be it from harmful spells, poison, or even from legimencers.” He claimed the bracelet from it’s rating place and beckoned Harry to hold out his arm, with the boy obliging. “ Now I find that those charms are satisfactory for most, however not enough for you.” He linked it around Harry’s wrist before continuing. “ I have also added a few of my own defenses. There's a simple tracker, and no it does give me that awareness of your location at all times. I am more than content to believe you are where you should be without me having to check. It runs in tandem to the main properties of the charms I have placed. I have taken the liberty of soaking the bracelet in a potion of my own design, which contains a drop of my blood. This potion does several things at once. It’s main property is to signal for me when you are in trouble.”

“How?”

“I was just about to explain that you brat.” Sev shook his head in amusement. “ You merely have to say ‘Severus’ and it shall send a signal to my own bracelet.”

“But what if I just say your name in passing?” Harry asked.

“As if you ever use my full name?” Sev raised his eyebrow in disbelief, startling a laugh from Harry. “ To asway your concerns however, it will not activate with any simple mention of my name. I am sure you felt it connect to your magic? “ Harry nodded. “ Excellent, it will only truly activate if it senses any signs of distress from your magic.” Sev was more than happy to see that Harry was now looking at his present with such clear joy on his face. “ Do you have any other questions?”

It was quite a bit more time before Harry could even tear his thoughts away from the bracelet, But when he finally did he turned to face Sev with a mighty grin. “ Yes, ummm isn’t using your blood in the potion ‘blood magic’ and therefore illegal?” 

Sev barked out a surprise laugh before he could control himself. “Yes you impertinent brat, now leave and make sure you are prepared to leave. You have an early train to catch tomorrow.” He pulled Harry into a hug before the young man happily left his office to hopefully pack up.

***End Flashback***

  
  


He was pulled out his thoughts as a flash of white flew by the compartments window, and he struggled to get to the window to open it. It was just in time for Hedwig to gracefully fly in and land on the rack above their heads, where the luggage would normally go, if they all hadn’t had trunks that were self shrinking.

“Hello beautiful.”

“ _ ~I’m the beautiful one here.~ _ ” Saffron muttered, her tongue flicking in disgust towards Hedwig. “  _ ~ She is simply pretty.~ _ ”

“ _ ~You are both beautiful Saffron.~ _ ” Harry tried to placate. He knew that Saffron and Hedwig didn’t hate each other per say, but he had no doubt they tolerated each other for his benefit. Hedwig had hooted at the compliment, but almost as if she understood Saffron, was now glaring at the uncaring Occamy. She then let Harry remove the small note attached to her. It was a simple note written in the graceful swirls of Sev’s handwriting.

_ “I shall be there” _

It burst into flames immediately and burned away so fast, Harry was unsure it even happened.

“Well that was dramatic.” Neville pointed out.

“Definitely from Professor Snape then.” Blaise responded, turning back to his book.

“It could have been a death threat from the Headmaster.” Theo theorized. 

Harry was more than content to let the three go back and forth between each other, coming up with weirder and more outrageous possibilities. His favorite was from Neville, claiming it was actually from Harry in the future and it was telling him of something yet to happen. Some time while this was all happening, Trevor had jumped out of her terrarium that Neville had him in and the toad was now receiving scratches from Harry, who was finding himself covered in animals again.

A knock on the door startled everyone, and before anyone could bid whoever it was to enter, the door slid open and Granger entered. “ Harry, I was looking for you.” she either ignored or didn't hear Blaise's comment asking her how many compartments she barged into before finding us. Harry was certain she was ignoring it as she ignored the other three boys. “ I just wanted to wish you a Happy Christmas.”

A Merry Yule to you Granger.” Harry responded.

“ I don’t celebrate Yule Harry.” She exclaimed with a small look of annoyance. “ The polite thing is to wish me a Happy Christmas as well.” She was rather irritated if the look on her face and the insistent foot tapping was anything for Harry to go by.

“Well I won’t be celebrating Christmas. Like most of the Wizarding World I shall be partaking in Yule festivities this year.” Harry hated how he kept finding himself in these situations.

“ But Harry! Muggles can’t celebrate Yule! There are Rituals that they would need magic to take part of.”

“ What do Muggles have to do with it?” Harry was rather confused.

“Oh, everyone knows that you live with your Muggle relatives. So you have to be celebrating Christmas.” She smiled so brightly, clearly believing herself to be correct.

“ Yes well, while I do live with my  _ Squib _ Aunt and cousin, I have been invited by Minister Potter to be a part of the yearly Potter Family Yule Festivities.” Harry responded. He didn’t want to give too much information.

“I see, well then, Merry Yule Harry.” Granger’s cheeks had turned red.

“Happy Christmas Granger.” Almost immediately she fled, and Harry turned to the trio just as they all broke out in laughter. No matter how much Harry asked and begged, they all refused to tell him what was so funny.

*************************************************************************************************************

  
  


The rest of the train ride was quiet, except for a moment when Bethany and Heir Malfoy bothered them. Bethany was cold but polite, exclaiming how joyous the Yule celebrations would be with the true Potter Heir this year, and Heir Malfoy made quite a few snide remarks concerning Theo going to his family’s Annual Ball and not the Potter’s, ignoring that it was really only a Family event this year. The quartet had just ignored most of what they said and the two left without much prompting.

Before long they were arriving and Blaise gave Harry five drops of calming draught. He confirmed with Sev apparently that Harry was allowed to take a few more drops if it was an emergency and not every time. They hugged each other, or rather Harry hugged each of them with a bit of grumbling from Blaise, and a blush from Neville, and then before he knew it, Harry was making his way to the Muggle part of King’s Cross.

Harry was thankful that Muggles couldn’t get onto the Platform without the aid of a Witch or Wizard, since he no doubt was in for an earful from his Uncle. 

“Boy! Over here.” Uncle Vernon was loud, however he wasn’t as angry as Harry had expected. “Well where’s your stuff?” He demanded, only grunting in response to Harry claiming everything was in his pockets. He quickly got into the back seat, barely getting his seat belt on before his Uncle hit the gas and they were on their way back to Number 4. The journey was quiet, as Uncle Vernon hated the public radio, and Harry could hear all his mutterings of ‘ freakiness’ and ‘useless’ and something about a plan. It made Harry very uncomfortable and he found himself alternating between petting Saffron, who had hidden herself in his sleeve beside his new bracelet, and the bracelet himself.

It thankfully wasn’t a long trip back to Number 4. Harry felt a rather gross feeling immediately on entering. It was a thick and dark feeling, and Harry wanted to do nothing but run back out of the house, Unfortunately, Harry was practically dragged into the house and pushed up the stairs, the attic ladder was already open.

“Where’s Aunt Petunia?” Harry asked as he was shoved up the ladder. He was trying to prolong the inevitable, and hopefully find a way to get out. 

“She’s under the weather, yeah that’s it.” Uncle Vernon bellowed. “ So keep you yap shut.”

  
  


Harry’s legs were just out of the way before the ladder was slammed shut, and Harry heard a loud clunk. With a heaviness in his heart, Harry realized that they had placed a lock on the entrance. He froze when he turned around and noticed what they had left him. In one of the corners were three items that had Harry’s heart freeze, a bucket, a jug of water, and a loaf of bread. He knew that they would feel the effects of his hunger, because of the Heir’s Protection. but he was almost certain they were cruel enough to put up with it for a few weeks just to spite him. They were unaware that Harry had no intentions of staying there, so he was expected to survive on a gallon of water and a loaf of bread, not to mention to use the bucket to… He barely repressed his shudder. 

He scrambled to the far end of the attic and quietly moved a box. He had learned just before he left for Hogwarts that if Harry was quiet enough he could hear what his Aunt and Uncle were saying from within their room. He found himself in the middle of their conversation

“- up in the Attic Tuny. I locked him up and everything.” His Uncle’s gruff voice. Came up from the vent.

“Did he have his things?” Aunt Petunia’s voice was particularly shrill.

“ He claims it was all in his pocket.”

“And you did not check????” Her shrill voice made even Harry’s head hurt. “ What if the brat was lying?” There was a muffled sound. “ Maybe he was telling the truth. A lot can be done with magic.”

“ Well with him locked up i doubt he will be able to get out.” Harry would have laughed if he wasn’t terrified. 

“ Vernon, go up and get his things. I want his wand now!” 

“ Tuny, dear. Remember the plan. We need to wait until he falls asleep.”

“No now. I need that wand! We can do so much with it. A better car, a better house. I can probably magic up some money!” Her voice took on a sickly sweet tone, and there were a few more words that Harry could not make out. “I’ve only been able to change colours of things, and that one time I set the flowerbed of Number 12 on fire! With a wand I can do so much more!”

“Yes Tuny.” There was more grumbling on his Uncle’s part, but Harry could hear him as he went to the door. Freaking out Harry frantically looked around to find something to use as a weapon. His hands rested on an abandoned coat rack. His Uncle’s angry footsteps could be heard getting closer. Harry hefted the wooden rack up but struggled under its weight.

“ _ ~Use it to lock in the ladder thingy.~ _ ” Harry was startled by Saffron, but with a quick look saw that there was a space where the hinges expanded and constricted as it opened, where the rod would fit and would keep his Uncle from pulling the ladder down. 

He rushed over and managed to get it in just as he heard his Uncle unlock the lock. He jumped back as the man below tried to pull down the ladder. Thankfully the rod did it’s job and the ladder didn’t expand. Uncle Vernon began screaming and yelling, apparently yanking harder and harder. Soon aunt Petunia’s shrill voice joined his Uncle’s and Harry barely heard the small cracking of wood. Harry feared it was the rod, but when he inspected it from a safe distance he saw the frame of the entryway was actually the bit that was cracking. He began to panic again. “ _ ~ Call the smelly man~ _ ” Saffron advised. “ _ ~ Use his gift Harry~ _ ” It took a moment for her words to get through to Harry’s fear-addled brain, and he quickly gripped the bracelet screaming  _ Severus _ . 

Harry wasn’t sure how long it took, all he could do was sit as far away from the ladder as possible, watching as more and more of the frame cracked, and as his Aunt and Uncle continued to scream and rant at him. Suddenly there was a loud boom from somewhere in the house, and then almost immediately a voice that Harry recognized bellowed out a pair of  _ ‘Stupefy’  _ and suddenly the frame was blown away, causing the ladder to fall down. Harry barely even gave any thought before he dove out of his hiding spot and down the ladder. Sev stood at the end of the hall, his wand pointed at the stunned bodies of Harry’s Aunt and Uncle. Harry stumbled over them as he made his way to Sev and threw himself into the man, who had the forethought to grab the boy before they both fell over. Harry immediately started crying.

Sev pulled his arms tightly around the boy, glaring at the pathetic lumps on the ground. He had half a mind to torture them to death. Instead he pulled the boy close, told him to hold on and Apparated them both out of the house, wards be damned. They landed in a field that was quite a bit away from, well, everything. Sev regularly farmed herbs and wild flowers from it, and it was the first thing that came to mind. Harry was too upset to have noticed their travels, and Sev was tempted to go back and curse those Muggles. 

“ What to do now. We cannot go back to Hogwarts, as Albus will surely notice. Nor can we take haven at my home, for nearly the same reason.” Sev spoke aloud to himself. “ No doubt the old man would just pop in randomly.” A hiss and a muffled statement from the head against his chest drew him out of his musing. “ What was that?”

“Saffron says to use Potter Manor.” Harry’s voice cracked a little. “ Well, she actually said Family’s Nest, but you know, snake.”

“Oh, well that is a wonderful idea, but I don’t suppose you know how to get to Potter Manor?” Sev deadpanned at the boy, glad to see he had a smile on his face. “Perhaps later telling me how your snake even knows about Potter Manor.”

  
  
  


“Um, well you see. “ Harry’s face was now red from being caught. “ I found out about Potter Manor and then met the Head House Elf, Dingly, and asked her to clean up the place so that I could have a place to hide if I needed it.” A sudden pop startled Harry and he fell back against Sev.

“Master Harry Potter Sir, calls for Dingly?” The small elf stood rather close to the pair.

“ Oh uh, no Dingly.” Harry pulled away from Sev, a bit embarrassed at his reaction. “ I was just telling Sev about Potter Manor. You can -” He was promptly silenced as Sev’s hand covered his mouth. He gave Sev a rather strong glare, and the man just smirked back.

“Mr. Potter, I believe that Dingly here, is our solution to discovering the location to Potter Manor.” He looked pointedly at the energetic House Elf that was practically vibrating with the joy of having a task.

“ Oh yes master Harry Potter Sir! Dingly be taking you now.” She didn’t even give them a moment before she latched on to them and Popped them away, and to another empty field.

“Uh, Dingly, thanks for that.” Harry’s head was reeling from the back to back teleporting. “ But I thought the Manor would be, I don’t know, a building and not an empty field.”

“Dingly did.” She pouted, and Harry refused to laugh at the poor creature. “ It be there!” Her small finger pointed off in front of them. “ You be needing to accept the Claiming!”

“What does that mean?” Harry asked, his anxiety was peaking back out. Sev handed him a bit of his calming draught, prepared to halt the next wave until they were sheltered.

“She means that you must cut the tip of your finger, drawing blood, and hold it out for the Manor’s wards to accept you.” Sev produced a small knife and a handkerchief. “ Use this to clean the blade after.”

He dubiously nicked his finger and held it out, fully expecting to just look like an idiot. Therefore he was not expecting the sheer pressure of Magic throwing itself at Harry. It started with the small cut he made, warming him to the point of almost being painful, and then travelled up his arm and around his entire body, stealing his breath. All too suddenly it pulled itself out of him, leaving him weak in the knees and shivering. Sev caught him before he was about to fall, and Harry opened his eyes, not even realizing he had closed them in the first place.

A house, no it wasn’t a house, it also wasn’t what Harry assumed a Manor would like like either. No this building that stood proudly in front of Harry was in fact nothing short of a Castle. Firstly, an ornate iron gate, double Harry’s height rested directly in front of him. An equally tall wall, made of a dull sandstone coloured stone, capped with large flat white stones reached out, starting from the gate and going far out of sight. A white stone gravel path trailed from the gate and up to the Castle, circling around a fountain that was off. Harry had only to think he would like to see it working, before spouts of water came to life within it. The path was quite long and Harry could barely make out the large stairs leading to an equally large dark wood door. He knew they must be huge as he had little trouble seeing them from afar.

The Castle itself was made of the same stone as the walls, with many windows dotting the face of it. It had a flat roof, with several round towers jutting out of the main building. The pointed roofs of the tower were a dark grey. Large bushes and flowers decorated the entirety of the front garden, and Harry could see several different groups of vines crawling their way up the façade of the Castle.

A pointed cough from behind Harry had him remembering Sev. He sheepishly turned to face the man. “ I don’t suppose you can see it now?” A raised eyebrow confirmed the stupidity of the question. “ How do I give you access?”

“Master Harry Potter Sir must be telling the wards to let Mister Potions see.” Dingly responded. “ Mister Potions must be offering blood too.” Sev took the blade from Harry, charming it sterile again before nicking his finger and staring down at Harry. Harry quickly grabbed the hand offered and pulled it to the gate. 

“I ask for an entry for Severus Snape. This is the will of Heir Potter.” Harry felt as the magic surged into Sev, and when it pulled away. He also managed to witness the moment when Sev was able to see the Castle in front of him.

“Hogwarts would be jealous.” Was the man’s only response. Oddly Harry was rather proud of that and smiled brightly. Dingly waited a moment before she popped away, knowing they didn’t need her to walk them to the entrance. The pair did in fact make it to the entry without much issue, however the flowers and the fountain had both distracted Harry quite a bit. Sev would forever deny he too was distracted by the plants, however it would always be a dirty lie.

The door groaned open before either could attempt to move it themselves. Dingly greeted them inside the foyer. Sev had become further concerned with Harry, as the boy wasn’t really looking around any more, and he was shivering quite a bit. He ignored the boy’s mutterings when he commandeered Dingly, and had her escort them to a room for Harry. Thankfully she took them to a pair of rooms that were connected by a door so that Sev could be there if Harry needed him to be. He urged the boy to shower and get ready for bed, and as he tucked Harry into the new bed, he handed him a high grade dreamless sleep potion. And waited patiently for Harry to fall asleep before leaving the room and caring for himself.

It was far too late to deal with the Muggles, or to go back to Hogwarts, so Sev wrote out a message and used an owl from the Potter’s Owlery to send it to Filius, who would happily give the others excuses as to why Sev was away. That man, Sev had found, was far too mischievous, and he had suspicions that the small Charms Professor was somehow aiding the Weasley Twins. With his missive sent, Sev went back to Harry’s room and settled into the comfy chair that Dingly had placed beside the bed. He had very little doubt that Harry would produce a nightmare stronger than the potion. It would be a long night for them both.


	21. Chapter 21: Revenge Isn't Always a Negative Action

  
  


Sadly, Sev was more than correct when Harry woke up multiple times screaming from nightmares. Harry’s magic seemed to burn the Dreamless Sleep out of his blood. It got to the point where the amount of sleep the poor boy had gotten couldn't even be categorized as a ‘cat nap’. By morning both were ragged and exhausted. Thankfully Sev had foreseen this, and had given Dingly a large quantity of Pepper Ups with the explicit directions to give spike whatever they were drinking every two or three hours for him and every five hours for Harry. Much of the morning was spent getting ready for the day, which for Harry meant using the bathroom and then changing into clean pajamas. Sev had dressed fully, wearing his usually dark wizarding robes.

Harry had very little energy even with the potions in his system and so they barely left the wing their rooms were in. He wanted to explore his new home, but his legs were much too wobbly to take more than a few steps. They did however make it into a rather nice reading room. Although ‘room’ did very little justice to the place. All of Number 4, could fit in it. A massive fireplace, that took up much of its own wall, roared to life as soon as they entered thanks to Dingly. Two large and comfortable looking couches faced the fire, a small dark wood table between them, and an extremely soft white carpet covered the hardwood floors underneath. Large bookcases filled to bursting covered the other two walls including the one with the entrance. The fourth and final wall was purely windows, showing off a view that had even Sev breathless. 

It was a garden very much reminiscent of those found in the castles of royalty. It was so expansive that neither could see the wall at its edge. Water fixtures and plants bloomed to magnificent heights, the snow that fell in the night, glowing brightly under the morning sun. A large glass building that Sev mentioned was a greenhouse took over a large portion of land in the distance. It was surrounded by a frozen lake and bare trees. Eventually Harry’s body could not take much more standing though and he found his way over to the couch, with Sev quickly following and claiming the other one. Dingly almost immediately bought Harry a blanket, and offered them both tea and biscuits, which Harry happily dug into.

“We must talk about this Harry.” Sev knew this would fester and it was better to deal with it now.

Harry pouted and refused to look at the man, munching on another ginger snap. “Harry.” There was no room for arguing when Sev used that tone. It didn’t mean that Harry wasn’t going to try. He immediately started discussing, of all things, the weather to the Potions Master, commenting about the snow and how it must mean they were further north than London since the weatherman hadn't talked about snow. Sev had stopped Harry, asking him when he had the time to know what the weatherman had or had not said, and it had thrown Harry off enough to make him pout again.

“Sev, it was horrible. But that’s par for the course with the Dursleys.” Sev didn’t miss the lack of familial titles. 

“It still affects you, Harry. Trauma doesn’t just replace a previous event. It compounds on itself, making even the strongest of people break. They tend not to break in a safe place either.” Sev had moved to kneel in front of him, wrapping him up in a hug. “ We are safe here. Only you can allow anyone to enter. Now is the time to work through this. You don’t need to be strong and stubborn about this. I am here and we will get through this.”

“ They don’t want me Sev. It’s obvious. So why did I believe they would welcome me back without wanting something.” The floodgates had opened. “ I was so stupid! They’re monsters and I still want them to like me, to love me!” Tears and snot ran off his face. “ They didn’t even want me just my wand.” His last few statements were muddled by hiccups, and Sev just held him tighter until he could calm down. Magic had begun shaking the room, but Sev ignored it, knowing that Harry was the cause, so Harry was his main concern. The boy had finally calmed enough to speak, and did he speak. Stories of his childhood, if one could call it that, riddled with punishments and beatings. Teachers offering to help at first but soon enough turning a blind eye, police coming to the house and leaving with threats to Harry, claiming they would drag him to prison if he continued to lie about his Aunt and Uncle. Starvation and beatings, being ignored when sick or bleeding. Severus had dealt with terrible things in his life, however the horrors of Harry’s life made even his stomach turn. 

Harry had never really told anyone everything, and he found himself so much lighter afterwards, he also found himself exhausted, and soon he fell asleep in the comfort of Sev’s embrace. 

Severus for his part barely moved. His mind was a chaotic mess and he had to Occlude more than he had to in a long time to keep his anger at bay. The Dursley’s and Albus would pay though, it was his strongest thought and had grounded him. He remained still for a few moments more, until he confirmed Harry was sleeping deeply. He then maneuvered the boy into a better position on the couch before summoning Dingly.

“ i have things to deal with.” He told Dingly. “ Remain watchful oh him, and get me immediately if he needs me.” He barely gave her enough time before he went to the fireplace. He had noted it to be an unmarked floograte, and he used it, landing gracefully in Filius’ office grate. Filius was not in his office thankfully and Severus quickly made his way to his own office. He had refused to allow the floo to be connected to it, denying anyone the ability to just enter his space. Wards could be broken and it was better to just not risk it.

He didn’t spend much time in his office, grabbing papers he would take with him to grade. He had summoned an elf as well, having him pack a trunk full of clothing as well as loading up a potions specific trunk. He sent a missive to Filius informing him he would be away from much of the holiday, inviting the man to give whatever reasons he wished. He also sent one to Albus, stating he was otherwise busy. He ignored the poor elf that the Headmaster had used to deliver his response. He found his way back to Filius’ office, disillusioned of course, and found himself holding back a laugh as the small professor was proudly tell Pomona that Severus was unavailable because he had ‘discovered a herd of Unicorns and is trying to get them unimprinted to him.’ That man was enjoying himself far too much.

He used Filius’ grate to get himself to Diagon Alley, where he stocked up on a few supplies he would need, along with a gift or two for Harry ( It was more like fourteen gifts, but one of them came in three parts.) He had summoned Dingly to collect all his packages, only a bit surprised she was accepting his call. When he asked about Harry, he was happy to note that the young man was still asleep.

Shopping done, Severus Apparated directly into Number 4. He had disillusioned himself again, going so far as to also block out and sound or smells he emitted as well. Overkill was nothing to be ashamed of if it stopped him from being killed. Neither residents had noticed the muted crack, far too busy yelling at each other. He ignored them for a moment though, allowing his magic to reach out, remembering how Harry had told him how the house felt foul, and he while he did not think the boy to be lying, he needed to feel it for himself. 

His magic had spread out far into the house before it finally touched upon the foulness Harry had mentioned. It wasn’t just foul, but gross and permeated pure wrongness, that the Potions Master’s magic rushed back into him so fast it left him breathless. Corrupt Magic. Severus couldn’t help from shuddering. Barely noticeable at first, Severus soon became attuned to the fact that it was everywhere. Seeping out from the walls and the furniture. He also noted that its singular source was in fact from Tuny. she had gotten more and more upset, and it seemed the Corrupt Magic was thriving off her over. Much like Harry, Sev was startled to find that magic was seeping from her as objects all around the room flung around or exploded, leaving Vernon to cower in the corner protecting his head with his fat hands. 

Severus had soon seen enough that he was more than ready to just leave, however he was a vengeful kind of person and he could not just let these two go without suffering for what they had done to Harry. He was tempted to let Tuny do what she wanted to Vernon first, but he did not have the time. Two well timed stunners had the two falling to the ground. He waved his wand and levitated them into sitting positions on the now neon green couch. He then wrapped them up in ropes and Silenced them both, before releasing them from the stunners.

“ Now, as much as I would like to kill you two in the most painful way possible,” He glared at Petunia, “And yes Tuny, I know multiple ways to do it. My hands are tied. That I am unable to do anything at the moment, however I cannot allow you to continue without some form of punishment.” He waved his wand over the shivering pair, ignoring their silent pleas. “ Now since the Heir’s Protection isn’t enough of a deterrent to treat your nephew like a human being, perhaps these will help.” He didn’t even have to wait for both of them to arch in pain as one of the spells took effect. “ Ah, see you’ve stumbled upon the first. That one will send a shock down your spine with every negative thought you have against Harry. Now unfortunately it won’t kill you.” He paused as Vernon visibly shook from pain. “ But it will hurt like hell, and there is very little doubt that you shall have permanent damage to your bodies.” 

“You are a terrible monster! How Lily could ever be friends with a freak like you!” Petunia had apparently broken out of the charm. Thankfully another spell took effect, as her tongue began to grow.

“ And now another aspect is shown. Well Tuny, I will admit this one is mostly meant for you. However your husband can also suffer under that curse. Anytime you use James or Lily Potter as a weapon against anyone, your tongue will swell. Again it won’t kill but I imagine the pain and fear is quite enough?” He had raised his eyebrow at the pair.

“Now I am quite afraid we are running out of time. For you see, I have a heavily abused eleven year old to care for. Now firstly I cannot allow you to know I helped him, Tuny. There are quite a few people who would kill for that knowledge.” Severus smirked at the woman, finding the giant tongue sticking out of her mouth to be a much better muzzle than the Silencing spell. “ So i shall have to wipe your memories of the last two days. Sadly this will also mean you will not know why you are in pain every time you think poorly of Harry, but alas, that is definitely a benefit for myself.” Not even bothering to wait for a reply, Severus erased their memories, giving them simple ones of boring domesticity. He did give Vernon the idea that he allowed Harry to stay with a friend, whose name he couldn’t remember. He left them before exploring the house making sure that nothing else would give him away. The corrupt magic throbbed all around him and he found himself shuddering. I had no idea how it would affect the curses he put on the Durley’s and was not willing to do more and risk it backfiring. Finally he Apparated back into the reading room at Potter Manor, smiling at the sight of Harry still asleep on the couch. Removing his outer robe and shoes, Severus landed himself on the other couch, settling in with a book that Dingly had left for him on the table.

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The next few days were fun according to Harry, and barely tolerable according to Sev. For the most part, Sev did leave Harry on his own, however whenever Harry wanted to explore further into Potter manor, or out on the grounds, Sev refused to leave him. Together they had explored much of the grounds, discovering a multitude of plants and rather mundane animals. Harry did however come across a new friend. A corn snake by the name of Bernard who had laid claim to the Greenhouse. The old snake was more than willing to tell Harry anything he knew, which wasn’t as much as Bernard thought it was, however Saffron had taken to the older snake and would constantly follow him around much to the corn snake’s dismay. Sev, had made comments about similarities between the plights of a corn snake and his own, which led to Harry openly laughing at the man.

However Harry very much explored on his own as well, especially when Sev locked himself in a Potions Room that Dingly had led him to. 

“Dingly, there has to be more than just you when it comes to House Elves for this place, where is everyone?” Harry had asked one morning. 

“There be fifteen, Master Harry.” Dingly had replied. “ We’s be waiting on you to ask.”

Immediately fourteen pops echoed throughout the room, and Harry found himself surrounded by House Elves dressed in dirty white pillowcases. Dingly introduced Harry to each of them and explained their main positions. Eight of them were females, including Dingly herself, Spring, Thistle, Danna, Hoppy, Ginger, Fritter and Bramble, with Bramble being the oldest, and honestly the scariest creature Harry had ever seen. The seven males were , Gutter, Thyme, Sippy, Creed, Olly, Hunter, and Loppy. Spring, Thistle and Thyme were the gardeners, no surprise there, Danna, Fritter, Gutter and Sippy were the cooks, while the rest of them were in charge of cleaning and guest care. Bramble had been introduced as the Potter Main Elf, and when Harry had asked how it was different to Dingly being the Potter Manor Main Elf, Dingly had rung her ears and turned to Bramble, who claimed he would know when he was Lord.

Harry had asked about their garments, as well as where they stayed, having an eerie feeling he was not going to like it. He was entirely correct, and most would say he went a little crazy. After learning that the elves would view receiving clothes as being fired, and learning that House Elves would die without being connected to a Wizarding Family or another source of magic, something to do with a binding put on them by disgraceful excuses for Ancient Wizards, Harry had Dingly shop for high end fabric and commissioned each elf to make their own clothing, with the Potter Crest embedded on their new uniform. He did forbid outlandish colours and hoped that Dingly remained sensible.

It was their living space that truly hurt Harry. All fifteen, or rather fourteen, as Bramble commented that she stayed elsewhere, lived in a small room, with fourteen tiny beds. The room was only accessible from a cupboard, which Harry tried very hard not to think about. The floors were worn and grey, the walls as well. The beds, if they could be called beds and not mounds of hay poorly wrapped in cloth, had no pillows and a simple scrap of cloth to use as a blanket. Ginger had maintained it was the best living space ever, but Harry was nearly brought to tears, comparing it to his old bedroom.

At first Harry had thought about renovating the room, but that was quickly thrown out as he noted how it was much too small for even three elves to share. He had instead asked Loppy to escort them all to the wing that hadn’t been used the longest. After quite a few halls, and stairs, and a door hidden behind a painting of a stone dragon, Loppy had shown Harry to the Emerald Wing, nearly fifty-two rooms including twenty bathrooms, and over twenty-three bathrooms. The rest were reading rooms and parlors, empty of any furniture. It took a small tour for Harry to decide. It took far longer to convince the House Elves to claim their own rooms and to make the Wing their own. Bramble had merely smirked at Harry before she snapped her fingers, changing her shabby pillowcase to a soft looking black robe with the Potter Crest embedded on its breast. She then snapped her finger again and disappeared. Weirded out, Harry bid his Elves goodbye and hunted down Sev.

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It was the night before Harry would go to Fairhaven Manor for Yule. Sev would be waiting behind until he received that okay to come. After corresponding with Jack, Harry had decided that the first Blessing he would ask during the Celebrations was the Blessings of Silence. The Blessing of Silence was meant as a bond that would keep all who partook in an event from mentioning outside of said event the on goings of the party as well as remaining mute as to the other guests, when conversing with people who were not invited. It was a rather common Blessing that tended not to be used anymore. Jack had no issues with Harry calling on the Blessing and claimed he spoke with Matron Greengrass, who also agreed.

He was still upset about leaving Sev alone, especially since it meant that Harry would have to find the Yule Log and Tree without the man, as the Blessing was placed upon the Yule Log as it was ignited. Sev claimed he was not at all upset, describing all the work he would be doing, as he would waste the rest of his much needed Holiday on a ‘bunch of Potters’. Harry had only smiles and the potions Master barely suppressed a shiver. They spent the last night together much like they had spent the first day together, relaxing by the fire in the Reading Room Harry had claimed as his favourite room. Far too soon, Harry found himself falling asleep and he found himself almost regretting accepting the invitation. But Sev had quickly dispersed any such ideas claiming he should be excited to get to know Family. 

Morning had snuck up on Harry, and he found himself being manhandled by several Elves, including Bramble who claimed that no Heir under her watch would embarrass her. Dressed in his fanciest robes, and with some magical goop that kept his hair neat, Harry accepted a hug from Sev, before holding the portkey, a thimble, to his chest as the timer on it wore down. As the grandmother clock in the room struck eleven, Harry felt a pull from his Magical Core, and suddenly he was transported away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon to be nothing but Greengrass and Potters. Sev's gonna hate it :D


	22. Chapter 22: The Opening Feast

Harry was forever thankful that Sev had warned him to walk in place before landing. Unlike Apparating or using the Floo, it wasn’t immediate and Harry had some time to orientate himself. It was quite a mind trip to see the ground coming up quickly beneath his feet, and even with the motion of his feet, he stumbled a bit as he landed. He took a deep breath and straightened his robes before turning to take in his surroundings.

Fairhaven Manor was beautiful. While Potter Manor was much larger and much more ancient than it, Fairhaven Manor certainly made up for it in its grandiose and beauty. The outer walls on its perimeter were just as high as Potter Manor, however the masonry was much more intricate, as well as the columns separating each stretch of wall. The Iron gate sported metal leaves and 

flowers. Metallic soldiers maneuvered along the gate, pushing flowers and leaves out of their path. Harry stood entranced even as they began repeating their cycle. A slight  _ Hem  _ had Harry jumping back, noticing the sudden appearance of a House Elf. She wore a bright red ‘robe’ with what Harry knew to be the Greengrass crest on her chest. 

“Invitation please.” She held her small hand out from between the rods in the gate, forcing the soldiers to find a new path. Harry patted himself down a bit, searching for his invitation, before finding it in his expanded breast pocket, and handed it to the Elf who seemed to check it with her magic as well as her eyes. “ Heir Potter, I’s be welcoming yous to Fairhaven. I’s be Gin.” She handed him his invitation back and the gates opened. Harry stepped through them, thanking the little Elf, before claiming his first real view of Fairhaven Manor. Arches, statues and gargoyles decorated every inch of the Manor’s façade. The Manor was made of mostly warm red bricks, with larger than life windows glowing from the lights within. Not a single window was dark. The path leading to the front entrance was rather long and daunting, and Harry was more than willing to accept Gin’s offer of a carriage. An old fashioned carriage rolled on its own out of a nearby carriage house. Harry could swear he saw something pulling it from the corner of his eye, but whenever he focused his attention there he saw nothing. Travelling in the carriage, Harry was able to enjoy the view leading up to the Manor. Bushes and trees littered the front Gardens, each one artfully shaped into animals. He spent much of the trip noticing more and more of them, and was rather surprised when they came to the end.

Gin welcomed Harry once again, this time bidding him entry into the Manor itself. Harry was not surprised that the grandeur from outside was matched within. Statues and busts as well as Large tapestries decorated the interior of the foyer. A large ornate carpet cover much of the white stone floor. Two largely imposing suits of armour guarded the entry way on the other side, to which Gin beckoned Harry onward. Several hallways, decorated similarly to the foyer, passed by him until Harry found himself just outside a pair of wooden doors. He could hear a man’s loud laughter from the other side. Suddenly nervous, Harry hesitated at the door, listening to the muted conversations, along with more booming laughter. 

“Heir Potter sir, yous must be entering.” Gin was at his side, clearly picking up on his nerves herself, as she wrung her hands together.

He took a deep breath before nodding to the Elf. “Thank you Gin.”

“Call out to Gin if you be needing anything.”

“I will.” He steel himself once more before stepping forward, the little Elf opening the doors before he could knock. He walked in, noting that much of the conversations had stopped with his arrival. Inwardly it freaked him out, however he knew it was important to show a calm façade. So with a rather blank mask, Harry surveyed the room, skimming over the different people and putting more of his attention to the room itself. It was clearly a ballroom as it was huge. Ornate pillars held up a ceiling, that was charmed similarly to the Great Hall, showed off large white fluffy clouds dropping flakes of snow down below onto the guests.

A self playing orchestra caught his attention, as violins and cellos and a large harp strings vibrated of their own accord. The brass and woodwind instruments swayed with the melody, as a single drum bellowed on its own.

It was mostly lit by two impressively large fireplaces on the two side walls, with large torches hung on each pillar. Garland and bits of holly wrapped around and between the pillars as well. Tables took up about a third of the room, with one larger table raised and centered between the others. It was from here that Harry noticed Jack and a rather thin platinum blonde woman with rosy cheeks making their way towards him. He made his way towards them as well nodding to a few people that he passed. He was rather surprised at the bear hug Jack pulled him into and only managed to wrap his arms around the man just before it became too awkward. 

“Harry, how nice of you to join us.” Jack’s slight French accent was peaking through, and Harry stifled a laugh as he noted the man’s rosy cheeks, almost certain that Jack had drank a bit. “ Wait, where are my manners? Harry, I mean Heir Potter, might I humbly introduce my lovely, and magical, and wonderful, and beautiful, and..” Only stopping as a pearl of laughter escaped said woman’s mouth and she lightly slapped his arm. His face pinked even more as he collected himself. “ Anyways, Heir Potter please meet my wife, Josephina Potter.” Harry absently noted that Jack had not introduced her with her Maiden Name.

“It’s a pleasure.” Josephina smiled at Harry, her accent stronger than Jack’s. She forwent any formalities, and pulled Harry into a hug as well, kissing both his cheeks. “ Please call me Phina Heir Potter.”

“ Uh, call me Harry please.” His cheeks matched Jack in colour. “ It really is a pleasure to meet you though. Jack has gushed about his amazing wife in many of his letters to me.”

“Ah yes well, that is, Phina, let’s introduce young Harry here to the family.” Jack happily wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist and kindly pushed Harry to a nearby couple. It was a whirlwind of introductions, with Jack showing off Harry to every possible person he could. Harry was unsurprised to meet mostly Greengrass Family members, however he was a bit astonished at the warm welcome most had given him. Yes there were a few that clearly looked like they preferred a root canal than his company. Still Harry made nice to each of them, not wanting to embarrass himself or Jack. He was also happy to note that quite a few Potters were around and he almost gleefully met each one, though he was surprised they were all rather old, being much older than Jack and Phina. He was also interested in how not a single one of them were currently living on the English Isles, most being from the Continent, but quite a few had made homes in the States or Asia.

Finally that parade seemed to be over and Harry was escorted by the pair to the center table, where a pair of women Aggie’s age sat together with their heads close.

“ Sorry to interrupt, but I have brought the man of the hour! It would be a terrible disservice not to introduce him to you two fine young ladies.” Jack bowed deeply to the pair, earning him a scroll from one of them and a laugh from the other.

“ Enough of that!” The scowling woman grabbed her nearby cane, and made a swipe at Jack, who happily hopped back a bit. Harry was happy to note that she hadn’t put much effort in the swing and therefore hadn’t meant it. “ My apologizes, Heir Potter, it seems my nephew here has turned into nothing but a drunk. His theatrics are in no way valued.” She stood up, being helped by the other woman. “ Now, I am most excited to meet you. I am Matron Selina Gabriela Florence Greengrass Nee Potter.” She dipped her head regally, both her hands resting on her cane in front of her. 

Harry took a second to glance at the cane, seeing it was a pure white wooden material ending in a golden metal on each end. “ He then bowed just as deeply as Jack had. “ Well met Matron Greengrass. It is an honour to be here.” He rose out of his bow, and was startled to see Matron Greengrass glaring at Jack, with the woman besides her hiding a laugh behind her hand. 

“You!” She waved her cane at Jack. “ You told him I’m dramatic didn’t you! That I enjoy the prim and proper etiquette! Mark my words Jacques, if your mother were still alive I would greatly enjoy telling her all of your wrongdoings I witnessed when you were a child!” She worked herself up a bit having to be forced to sit by the other woman.

“Not dramatic at all.” Came a muttering for Phina, causing Harry to let out a startle laugh. Which of course drew the Matron’s attention. “ Think it's funny do you? I may not like all the unnecessary hoops and limitations that my Title forces on me, but I still demand respect!” 

Harry had taken a step back, ready to turn tail and run out of the room. He only stopped as the four adults around him broke into rather loud laughter. He then decided to stick it out, but he did give a hesitant look to Jack and Phina.

“I’m sorry Harry.” After the laughter had managed to die down and Jack had caught his breath. “ Aunt Selina here likes to play her little games, and us peasants must play our parts!” He stood up and took another bow, earning him a polite clap from the other elderly woman. Harry in turn just accepted it, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck.

“Another one!” Matron Greengrass exclaimed, surprising Harry as she pointed to his actions. “ I swear it is a Family Curse on all Male Potters. The lot of them all have the same tell. Never bring a male Potter to a poker game Ma always said. And here is the proof. Not even raised near another Potter and he has the same habits!” 

The other woman drew the Matron’s flailing hand before whispering something into her ear. Harry was a bit bothered by her comment, thinking it rather rude that she would just casually use his lack of Family growing up against him. He was very much tempted to argue it was not his fault his parents were killed and he was abandoned by other Potters when he was just a babe, when he was startled again by the Matron.

“My apologies, Heir Potter. I have let my tongue flow freely, and I can only hope to earn your forgiveness.” She had bowed her head to him. “ I had not meant to trivialize the death of our parents to prove a point.”

Harry took a moment to claim himself before he replied. “ It’s fine. I feel that the true Family Curse is concerning how we all tend to put our foot in our mouths.” This had earned him four looks of confusion, and he found himself once again explaining a Muggle idiom to a bunch of Purebloods. “ Please call me Harry, we are Family of course.”

“ Call me Aunt Selina, then Harry.” Aunt Selina smiled almost fondly at him. 

Harry made several attempts at conversation between himself and the four adults, but soon found himself sitting back and just listening. He saw that the other woman was doing much the same and leaned over to speak with her.

“ Well met, I am sorry but we haven’t been introduced, and I don’t want to be rude.” Harry started. “ You can call me Harry please, I’m still not used to my Title.” 

“Well met Harry.” She reached out to shake his hand. “ I am Lady Wilma Greengrass, but you can just call me Aunt Wilma, everyone else does.” She gave him a genuine smile, and Harry couldn’t help but give her one in return. They found himself talking quite a bit, with Harry enjoying Aunt Wilma’s absolutely terrible humour ( Aunt Selina words, not Harry’s), and laughing at her stories of when she and Aunt Selina were students at Hogwarts. It was when their conversations had died down that Harry looked around the room and realized that there were no teenagers or younger, including his Cousins in the Hall.

“Sorry, I probably should have asked earlier, but where is Aiden, Daphne and Bethany?” Harry asked Phina. 

“Oh, that’s quite all right Harry. “ She smiled at him. Harry couldn’t help but think he recognized her from somewhere. “ They’re in the Hall nearby. Most of the children are bored during this part of the Event so we all thought it best to allow them a place of their own until the Feast.”

I believe that my son and wife are there currently. Dear Georgia doesn’t like to leave her daughters for long.” Aunt Selina added, her tone clearly showing she was a bit exacerbated by this. “ Jack, why don’t you take Harry to meet with the other young ones. The Gods above only know how boring us old people can be. You might take the time to be certain your sister hasn’t set fire to the Library again.”

“ Again?” Harry whispered to Phina, who only shook her head, a pensive look on her face.

“Certainly, Aunt Selina. Might I also perhaps feed the crups? Or wash the floors? Maybe you would like me to trim the hedges in the front gardens?” Jack asked jovially, pulling Harry from his chair. “ OUCH.” He rubbed his arm as Aunt Selina sent a nonverbal stinging hex at him.

“ The nerve, speaking to your elder like that. Wilma, can we banish him from the feast tonight?”

“No not the feast.” The Minister dropped to his knees begging to be allowed to stay. “ Please dearest Aunt, accept my humble apologies!” At this point, poor Harry couldn’t take much more and broke out into a roaring laugh that soon brought the other adults to join in. Soon enough, Aunt Selina allowed him to remain against her better judgement, and Jack guided Harry to the next Hall, which was not in fact the NEXT Hall. It was nearly a ten minute walk to get to it, which Harry thought was entirely absurd. Before they entered though, Jack put his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “ Umm just prepare yourself for my sister. She’s a bit much.” That was it before Jack pushed the boy into the Hall. He was soon escorted to the only adults in the room.

“Ahh, Cousin Jack, how kind of you to finally come to join the rest of your peers? The adults are finally sick of you?” A rather stern woman, who looked much to like Daphne to be anything but her mother. “ I am afraid that nap time is over, but I do believe they will be serving snacks and juice in just a moment.” 

“Hahaha Georgia, I’ll have you know that I was told to escort young Heir Potter here.” Jack replied. “ Aunt Selina entrusted his safety with me personally.”

“ I am most certain she was concerned that bandits would jump out and harm him, and not that she wished to send you away.” She smiled back at him. “ It is quite a common thing I hear, to be attacked within the safety of one's Manor.” Both adults glared at each other, and Harry awkward made eye contact with the man at Mrs. Greengrass’ side. He shared a look of amusement at the boy before turning stoic again. Suddenly Jack and Mrs. Greengrass burst out laughing, and Harry was coming to realize he was related to a bunch of insane people.

“Georgia, Eugene, might I be so kind as to introduce you to Heir Harry James Potter?” Jack announced, rather loudly if Harry’s opinion counted. It had drawn the gaze of almost all of the other children in the Hall. 

“Ah, you can just call me Harry.” He was getting sick of telling everyone that. He was also a bit ashamed to admit he was tired of meeting new people. It had been what he wanted but then again there was a saying for that wasn’t there? 

Mrs. Greengrass pulled him into a hug suddenly, and kissed him on his cheeks like Phina had before. “ Oh aren’t you adorable, please call me Georgia, Family should always be on a first name basis.” She pulled back, but Harry was immediately pulled into a strong handshake from her husband. He kindly told Harry to call him Eugene, sporting a smile beneath his mustache.

It wasn’t long before Daphne came to his rescue as Harry attempted more small talk with the older pair.

“We really need to work on your people skills.” She muttered to him.

“I think I am rather good with people.” Harry responded rather affronted by her claims. “ I do really well with our study group and the Professors.”

“Yes, well most of the student body are idiots, and seeing as the Professors spend much of their time around students and other Professors, a talking frog would be a better conversationalist to them.”

“Wouldn’t a talking frog be a better conversationalist to anyone? I mean it's a talking frog?”

“You know what I mean Harry. Anyways look lively, we are just about to throw you into the snake pit.” She warned him just before they met up with the handful of children. 

“Everyone I would like to introduce you to Heir Potter, or Harry as he will immediately demand all of you to call him.” Daphne smirked at Harry’s blush. It hadn’t taken long for Daphne to realize that Harry wouldn’t want to put a barrier between him and his family. She saw it when he told her to call him by his name, far too soon in her opinion but who was she to judge when it benefited her, as well as when he finally started to get to know Aiden, giving the other boy permission almost immediately. 

“Does that include me?” Bethany had asked, with a rather pointed smirk on her face.

“No.” Harry hadn’t even bothered to think about it. Harry was still not happy with how she had treated him back at Hogwarts, and he had refused to allow her to use his name, telling her to stick with ‘Heir Potter’ for a while. 

His response had apparently stunned her, and Harry was quite annoyed at her for thinking he would forgive and forget. It took a moment before she dipped her head. “ My apologies.” She then turned away from him, clearly annoyed. “As the Eldest-”(by seven minutes Aiden muttered) It is my duty to introduce you to my, I mean, our younger sister Angeline.” A small girl, no older than six peaked out from behind Aiden’s legs, giving Harry a shy smile and a small wave. Harry gave her one of his own as well.

“This one here, is my younger sister Astoria, she will be coming to Hogwarts next year.” Daphne pointed to a girl who could have been her twin, except for the smile. Not to say Daphne didn’t have a nice smile, but Harry was almost certain Astoria’s smile could cure cancer. “She’s a Hufflepuff.” Daphne stated in a tired tone.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff.” Aiden responded.

“Of course you’d say that. You are one.”

“Aiden’s right though, there’s nothing wrong with Hufflepuff.” Harry turned to look at Astoria, who was clearly upset with disappointing her sister. “ I mean besides the colour yellow.” Earning a laugh from the girl. Daphne quickly introduced the few other children, all Greengrasses, none being Harry’s Cousin. 

“What Daphne, sweetie? Not going to introduce me?” A girl, no, a young woman, remarked casually, pushing herself up after leaning against the mantle. She walked over to the kids, who all mostly scattered except Harry, Daphne and Bethany who had a rather mean smirk on her face. “I’m hurt, Daphne, well and truly hurt.” She towered in front of Harry. “ Juliet Annalise Potter.” She held out her hand to Harry. “ You’re supposed to kiss it.” She responded when Harry stared blankly at her. He was getting rather bad vibes from her, feeling that she very much didn’t like him. “ Oh well, I guess the rumours of you being raised by peasants are true. Poor little you.” She had a rather cruel smile on her face, but it immediately melted into an incredibly happy smile. 

“Aunt Juliet, is father’s younger sister.” Bethany felt the need to add. “She’s the best.”

Harry suppressed a shudder as he realized this is the role model that Bethany apparently emulated at Hogwarts. To be polite, Harry did stand there for a bit, listening to Juliet prattle on about herself, with Bethany adding in anything that she thought made Juliet look great. Much of it was nonsense but Harry was being far too polite to say anything against them, as much as he wanted to. Thankfully it wasn’t much longer before they were informed by a House Elf that the feast was about to begin. They made their way back to the main Hall, and Daphne guided Harry up to the middle table again. He soon found himself sitting with Aunt Selina on his left and Jack on his right. The table was himself, Aunt Selina, Aunt Wilma, Eugene and Georgia, followed by Daphne then Aiden and Bethany with the circle ending with Juliet, Phina and Jack. Thankfully Juliet and Bethany were far enough away that Harry could justifiably not have to talk to them. He was a bit upset that Daphne and Aiden were far away as well. 

“Why isn’t Astoria and Angeline not sitting with us?” Harry quietly asked Jack.

“Children have their own table.” He nodded to the table just right of them. House elves stood by as the children loudly whispered to each other. “ Only the Main Family sits here, and only the children who have turned eleven join us.” Harry couldn’t help but notice the forlorn look Aiden gave to the table of kids, and he found himself almost wishing he was there as well. Too many eyes were looking up at them, and it only got worse as Aunt Selina rose up, tapping her champagne flute with a knife.

“ If you would please quiet down. Thank you.” Her voice echoed within the Hall. “First as is my Honour as the Head of House Greengrass, I welcome you all. I am forever grateful that we can spend another Yule together.” A round applause and cheering from the kids filled the silence. “ Now it is also my great honour to announce and welcome Heir Potter to our Festivities. As it is his first Yule with us, we have asked you all to allow him to be our Blesser this season, as is his duty to House Potter, and it does my heart good as a Potter myself that you have accepted and for that I humbly thank you.” Polite clapping was their response, and Harry was happy to note that everyone was happy to let him step in, even if it was for Aunt Selina’s sake. “ Now, I have very little to say as I too am rather hungry. So I shall end my speech by saying Merry Yule. May we Feast and be Blessed.” 

Harry took his cue, and stood up just as she sat down. He swallowed his nerves, taking in the look of encouragement that most of the table was giving. “ As is my duty as Heir to an Ancient and Noble House, I Heir Potter, do humbly as Lady Magic to Bless those who gather here. Please give us peace, joy and happiness this Yule and let us end this year with your Blessing.” It was silent for a moment, but when Harry began to fret he had somehow messed up, or that he was unworthy, to which the smirk of Bethany and Juliet’s faces seemed to imply, a wind rushed in from nowhere. The flames from the torches and from the fires flared out, and a feeling of warmth settled on those who were there, starting at the center and folding out. It was a feeling like nothing Harry could even describe.

Silence had taken over for only a moment before Aunt Selina rose up. “ Thank you Heir Potter for calling forth the Blessing. May we now enjoy the Feast.” Food upon food soon decorated the tables and there was a quiet murmur around the room as everyone dug in. Harry was all too happy to start eating and quite enjoyed his plate of roast vegetables and ham. He had shied away from the turkey as he found it rather bland. Jack and Phina made sure to include Harry in conversations, ever letting the nervous boy sit in silence. Soon enough people slowly stopped eating and the food and scraps were Vanished from the tables by the House Elves. Aunt Selina once again rose up. “As is Tradition, House Potter has provided us with the desserts for the Feast. May say our thanks and accept them.” 

The desserts had taken Harry, and a few of Potter Elves almost three days to bake. Stasis charms were a blessing and once Harr had finished a tray of cookies or a pie, Sev had shown him how to do the charm and soon the Potter Mano kitchen was filled with baked goods. They were obviously a hit with everyone, and Harry couldn’t remove the look of pride on his face if he tried.

“Harry, you must let me borrow your elves who baked this pie!” Georgia exclaimed helping herself to another piece of the pecan pie she was pointing at.

“ Not just the pie, the ginger snaps are absolutely amazing.” Eugene admitted. Soon the entire table, minus a certain pair, were exclaiming their delight on his baked goods.

" I am certainly glad that everyone seems to be enjoying my desserts. But I’m afraid borrowing the house Elves wouldn’t help you. I ah, I was the one who baked everything.” He found himself rubbing his neck as everyone at the table turned to stare at him.

“Harry you made this pie?” Georgia was clearly dumbfounded, and soon they were all asking him if he was telling the truth.

“This must have taken you all day!” Phina had exclaimed.

“It took about three days, and a lot of Stasis charms but no I baked everything. I mean I did have the Elves help collect ingredients or do some of the grunt work. But the recipes are mine, and I made sure to actually bake everything myself.”

“Stasis charms? You put Stasis charms on baked goods? For three days? And they are still this fresh?” Wilma asked suddenly.

“Yes?” Harry hesitated.

“That’s impossible! Everyone knows that you can’t Stasis baked goods for longer than a night!” Juliet denied. “ He’s obviously lying.”

“I am not.” Harry had frowned when she had first started speaking but by the end he was practically seething.

“Harry calm down. I am quite sure Juliet didn’t mean it.” Phina’s tone showed she didn’t believe it though, but Harry appreciated her words anyways. Letting his frustration go Harry turned to Aunt Selina who was staring impassively at him.

“Harry, might you show us your charm work.” He pointed to an untouched loaf of bread. He really didn’t want to, but he figured it’d be best to just get it over with. He pulled out his wand, he still didn’t need it, but found it was better to use it when focusing on a small area. Swishing his wand and silently layering a Stasis charm on it. Almost immediately Wilma waved her wand over the load, apparently running some kind of test. Whispering something into Aunt Selina’s ear. “Well it seems that it is possible to Stasis baked goods for long periods of time. Wilma’s test showed that loaf would last several weeks without interference.”

Harry blushed as everyone looked at him again, now with, mostly, looks of awe. He dug into his own plate hoping everyone would pretend nothing had happened, and thankfully after a glare he had not seen from Aunt Wilma the rest of them dug in as well.

“ We are thankful for the Blessings and for the food.” Aunt Selina had risen as clearly everyone was finished. Most of the guests had taken to sipping tea or coffee. “ Now is the time. Heir Potter, continuing with your duties, we now send you out to collect the Yule Log.”

Harry nearly choked on the sip of water he was taking. He had known he was meant to get the Yule Log, but he had forgotten as no one had made mentions of it. It had also seemed like an easy task, but now, realizing it was quite dark and cold out, Harry wished he could back out of it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t without shaming himself and House Potter.

“Heir Harry James Potter.” His name booming around Hall jolted him out of his thoughts. “ who shall you bring to help you search?” Aunt Selina waited imperiously for him to choose. 

Harry had already known he would ask for Jack’s help. He had also questioned taking Aiden, but had realized it would be troublesome to have to search for the boy instead who would surely get lost. He refused to take Bethany on principle. Juliet was out for much the same reasoning. Leaving him with Phina, Georgia and Eugene. Phina was his first choice however he noted she kept rubbing her stomach and he feared she was getting sick. When it came down to Eugene or Georgia, Harry had almost flipped a coin before he suddenly blurted out he wanted to ask Georgia. His instincts had practically yelled to take her.

Everyone was surprised by his choice, however they all accepted it including Georgia who was the most bewildered out of anyone.

“My instincts told me to take you.” Was his only reply.

The trio bundled up and stepped out into the cold, taking a carriage out past the gates. 

“We cannot use magic to summon the Log, nor to shrink it or enlarge it. Jack and I shall light the way.” Both the adults casting Lumos and offering a fair amount of light.

“What exactly am I looking for?” Harry asked. All his research had told him that the Yule Log was a broken piece from a tree that had magical properties. Nothing actually explained where they came from.

“ You’re not really looking for anything per say. More like your Magic will point you towards what we need.” Jack had explained. “ I’ve always wanted to go on a Yule Log hunt.” His excitement was contagious and Harry was able to use it to brush off the fatigue and coldness he felt. Remembering his warming charms though he threw a couple on himself and without much thought on his two companions as well. 

Listening to Jack’s advice, Harry let his magic flow out. Thus began a rather long journey of them wandering around. Jack felt the need to point out when they went by the same tree multiple times. Harry couldn’t help it though, his magic was pulling him. Finally after the fifth time Georgia had them stop.

“It must be here.” She lowered her wand aiming at the ground. “ But there’s not even a single leaf.” Grass and rocks littered the forest floor. “ I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps if you told me where the Log actually comes from?”

“Oh, I don’t see how it would help but of course i could explain.” Georgi looked at Jack who responded he had no idea where it came from and she was free to explain.

“ It is believed that the Logs burned for Yule are gifts from the Faeries and Druids of the woods, honouring a long forgotten Treaty. Long ago Wizards were at war with much of the Magical World. Slowly they were beaten and on the brink of extinction. A handful of Wizards had taken refuge in a small quiet Forest that had survived much of the devastation. Stories never agree if it was a Witch or a Wizard that offered some of their magic into the Forest in hopes of it helping to protect them.” Georgia passed, thinking about the next part. “ Stories also differ here, as some claim it was Elves, and others Faeries, and a few mention Druids, all coming to their rescue, and saving them from death. In honour of their help, whomever it may have been, the Wizards offered some of their magic to forests and woods everywhere to keep them strong.”

“Offer their magic.” Harry muttered, “ It cannot be that simple?” Harry walked over to the largest tree, the one that Jack kept pointing out. He reached out to it, placing his hand on the rough bark. “ I offer my magic.” Almost instantly the Tree shook, causing the trio to back away. Soon the ground and surrounding trees joined in, and Harry barely held himself upright. A sudden crack had them looking at the first tree again, and they saw as a crack started from its roots and climbed up its trunk. It separated, leaving a large hole. Harry began walking towards, but was stopped almost immediately as Georgi grabbed his arm. A humanoid figure had stepped out of the crevasse. Staring intently at them. It took Harry a moment to realize it was not a person, but a Druid. Male in stature, the figure was made purely of tree bark, with long branches stretching out of it, taking the form of arms and legs and fingers. A crown of branches grew from the creature's head.

“ _ What is your wish? _ ” A quiet voice flowed out from a breeze.

“ Ah Harry, this one’s on you, it was your magic.” Jack pushed Harry forward.

“ We ask for, uh, that is. I offer my magic to honour our Treaty.” Harry hoped he was saying the right thing. The Druid stared intently at Harry, and the boy tried not to cower under its gaze.

“ _ We accept. _ ” Came multiple whispers, sending a chill down Harry’ spine. The Druid raised one of its arms, and a branch from its tree reached down to it. The was a blinding light and suddenly the branch was now a rather large log, being about 6 inches in diameter and almost 13 inches long. The druid offered it to Harry who quickly took it.

“ _ May you find your peace.  _ The Druid sank back into its tree, and the crevasse closed itself up. 

It took a minute for the trio to collect themselves, and none would admit they practically ran out of the woods. Later when asked about what had happened, they found themselves unable to utter a single word about what had transgressed in the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of the state of Georgia going Blue, I thought I'd name a character after it. Also really like the name Georgia.


	23. Chapter 23: A Potter's Blessing

Selina gazed, no, she glared at the letter in her hands. Its edges wrinkled as her hands gripped tightly. Her nephew's pygmy owl hooted in alarm as a vase shattered nearby its perch. Selina just sighed, waving her wand towards the broken face. The pieces flowed back together, adding a new vein of colour where the cracked pieces met.

She turned her attention back to the offending letter. The last few weeks have been a rather busy time for her nephew’s small little owl. Ever since that unfortunate incident involving the Troll and Aiden, to which she had taken straight to the Minister, only for that addled fool of a leader to give Albus a slap on the wrist. Students almost died because the man and nothing was to come of it? 

The vase cracked again, this time causing the little owl to fly off, it’d come back when she had a response, it always did. However she really needed to figure out how she was going to respond. Jack had been able to send and receive letters from young Harry, much to both her joy and dismay. All the letters that she had attempted for years, each coming back without being opened. She had spent much of those years complaining, Wilma would claim whining, about how the Heir didn’t even want anything to do with them. It was only after she had confirmation from the Goblins, and a handful of other Allies and Vassals to House Potter, around the time Harry would have been eight, that she learned there was in fact a restriction on the mail that went towards the boy. 

She had further been enraged when Jack had informed her that Harry’s letter had been tampered with and that the boy had used a Hex to protect all his mail from future tampering. She was more than glad that her nephew had managed to make contact with Harry. She was also overjoyed that he would send her copies of all the letters both from Harry and from himself. He also regularly asked her for input concerning what he should and should not say to Harry.

Now nearly two months in, and Jack had just confirmed Harry would join them for Yule. She had sent out his invitation immediately, and received his response by lunch. She had been a bit concerned when the plus one had been added with no name. It was made worse when Jack had penned her, asking her if she would be opposed to the Blessing of Silence. It had been a regular Blessing from her youth, as many Alliances and plans were made during the Yule tidings. Nowadays however, most just celebrated during the Festival. Most Alliances had been made during the First War, and as much as there was a weak peace in the Wizarding World, there were still very strong lines drawn.

It had puzzled her as to why Harry would ask for it, however when she had read the present letter in her hands, and found that it would be Master Severus Snape who would be in the place of Harry’s plus one, she believed she knew why he wanted the Blessing of Silence. It was quite unfortunate that Wilma had made her appearance, checking in on her wife. Now she would be stuck listening to her rant for Merlin knows how long.

“ That bloody meddler is sending a spy Wilma!” She waved the letter in the other woman’s face.  “I told you there was a reason why Harry would want the Blessing of Silence! That Headmaster is going too far!”

“What are you even talking about?” Wilma was concerned how upset her wife was getting.

“Here just take a look for yourself. He’s sending his lap dog to watch Harry! Not even going to allow us to celebrate Yule without him finding a way to somehow breathing down our necks.”

Wilma had skimmed the letter, noting the bit where Jack explained that the Potions Master would be joining them. Her magic wanted to explode at the idea, but she tempered it with her will. Unlike Selina, she didn’t want to take what was written at face value. There was always more to everything, as she had learned.

“Lina, this might not be what you think it is.” She didn’t have any idea what it could mean but she was willing to at least believe it wasn’t as bleak as Selina was making it out to be.

“It’s exactly what I think it is. That man has kept the child from us long enough, and now when we have a chance to get to know him, and let him get to know us, he still has to get his meddling hands into the pot!” The vase shattered again, and Wilma was quick to the draw to repair it this time. Wilma knew when to bow out, she just hoped that her instincts were correct.

*************************************************************************************************************

  
  


_ He looks just like Fleamont,  _ Selina first thought upon seeing him. One could argue that Harry looked just like his father, but Selina would call them a liar. James had very much looked like a mixture of his parents, sporting the hair and complexion of the Potters, with the bone structure of the Blacks. But Harry, no Harry was quite literally all Potter. His face was nearly identical to that of her older brother when he was eleven. She watched as Jack went over to greet him, with only a hint of jealousy, Wilma understood though, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 

“ Relax Honey. He’ll be here soon enough.”

Selina still couldn’t help but watch as her Great- Nephew was introduced to nearly everyone else but herself and Wilma. Thankfully, Wilma was right and he was brought to them soon after. Up close, she really could see Lily in him, and like everyone else, it was definitely in from his eyes. But it wasn’t just from the colour. They were just as brilliantly green, Greener in Selina’s opinion, but it was also the shape of them, more almond than a Potter’s would be, and much more delicate eyelashes. Freckles also decorated under his eyes and over his nose. Yes both his Families were honoured in his looks.

Of course she had to put her foot in her mouth almost immediately, insulting him for losing his parents. He hadn’t even needed Wilma to tell her she had screwed up. It was written all over Harry’s face. 

Conversations were rather stilted between Harry and everyone, but Selina was more than overjoyed when Wilma had stepped in and made sure Harry felt welcome. She almost hated when she suggested Jack take Harry to the children’s hall, but she wanted him to be comfortable, and she could see he was getting a bit antsy. When he left, it felt like a bit of a vacuum was left behind. None of them really had any idea what to say.

“ He seems wonderful.” Phina broke the silence.

“He really is a bright boy.” Wilma revealed they had been conversing about the different subjects at Hogwarts, and while the subjects had changed in the many years since Wilma was a student, they were able to discuss quite a bit, lending Wilma the idea that Harry was studying well beyond just the First Year material. “He’s definitely got his brains from his mother.” Earning a scowl from her wife.

“ I’ll have you know that the Potter Family has given the world many geniuses!”   
  


“I am quite sure that gift skipped quite a few generations then.”

Phina was more than content to let the pair argue. She silently smiled, sipping her champagne as the duo went at it. 

*************************************************************************************************************

_ “ If you would please quiet down. Thank you.” Her voice echoed within the Hall. “First as is my Honour as the Head of House Greengrass, I welcome you all. I am forever grateful that we can spend another Yule together. As it is his first Yule with us, we have asked you all to allow him to be our Blesser this season, as is his duty to House Potter, and it does my heart good as a Potter myself that you have accepted and for that I humbly thank you. Now, I have very little to say as I too am rather hungry. So I shall end my speech by saying Merry Yule. May we Feast and be Blessed.”  _

Selina watched as Harry stood up and shook off his nerves.  _ “ As is my duty as Heir to an Ancient and Noble House, I Heir Potter, do humbly as Lady Magic to Bless those who gather here. Please give us peace, joy and happiness this Yule and let us end this year with your Blessing.”  _

Magic rushed into the Hall, and it took her breath away. She could see that everyone else was just as affected. It had been a long time since and Heir had called for the Blessings, in both the Greengrass House and in the Potter House, but Selina could remember not feeling this strong of a connection to Magic being called from them. Hell, when she had asked for the Blessings during their first Yule without Alister, there had been barely a breeze. To think that Harry had brought forth a strong reaction could only hint at his potential.

************************************************************************************************************

Wilma and Selina had made a wager on who Harry would bring during the Yule Log Hunt. Jack was already a given, as they both knew he felt comfortable around the man. Selina had bet on Eugene, Phina or Aiden, while Wilma had bet purely on Georgia. When she was asked why, Wilma claimed nothing but instinct. Selina had almost cracked her cane when Harry had asked for Georgia to join them. Wilma was just as surprised. It had been her bet, but she hadn’t believed it. 

They had huddled away from everyone else after the trio had left, making it clear they wished to be alone.

“I almost wish that he had taken me.” Selina wistfully claimed. “If it wasn’t for this bloody cane, I would have volunteered.”

“The cane wouldn’t be the only reason you could not go you know.” Wilma responded.

“I know, but I just worry, none of them have ever collected the Yule Log before, and so they have no idea what they must do.” It was why it was always the Lord the Spouse and the Heir. Magic kept them from revealing what they would be tasked to do, and it was only from participating did one learn how to honour the Treaty. “ I just wish I could have told them.” She fretted.

“I know honey, but Magic always has a way. They won’t fail.” Wilma tried to think positive. “ We have the Greengrass Log in reserve as well.” There was nothing against doing the search during the day, and The pair, along with Daphne had collected their own Log in the comfort of the morning sun. Still both elder women worried. If Harry succeeded, the the Potter Yule Log would be lit tonight on a large scale, and they would light the Greengrass Yule Log later.

*************************************************************************************************************

Selina had never been more proud, nor had ever seen a larger smile on an eleven year old. Even when Fleamont had taken James on his first search, and James came back with such a look of wonder, his smile paled in comparison.

“Well done Harry.” She hesitated a moment before pulling him into a hug. “ You have made your Family proud.” She whispered to him. It took a moment for him to react to the hug, hurting her heart a bit, but soon he had wrapped his arms just as tightly against her. “ James and Lily would have loved to have done this with you. I have no doubt they were with you in spirit though.”

She regretfully pulled away and turned to the Family. “ Heir Potter has been successful!” Cheers and applause echoed around the Hall. “ Now we shall take a moment to prepare, and he shall call for the Blessings.”

Everyone quietly went there separate ways, allowing Selina, Wilma, Harry, and her Nephew’s family to make their way to the large fireplace on the left. The House Elves had killed the fire from earlier, and cleaned the fireplace of all ash and soot.

“Now Harry please place the Log down.” Harry nodded, taking the log back from Jack, who was still in awe from the Hunt. “ As I am the eldest, it is my duty to confirm the Log as fit for it’s duty, as well as assuring it shall remain lit during the days. You are tasked with calling for the Blessings, as well as assuring it will remain alight at night. No foreign Magic besides mine and yours shall be able to affect it.” He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck again.

She waved her wand over the Log, having no doubt that it would suffice, and smiled as her spells confirmed it. She nodded to him, and motioned for everyone to join them. A pair of chairs had been provided by the Elves for herself and Wilma. Everyone else, with Harry directly in front of the fireplace, and her Nephew’s family behind them, and all the others behind them, kneeled facing the Log. Nothing happened for a while, and Wilma looked on in concern as Harry just knelt there. “ I don’t believe he knows he has to light it Honey.”

“I think you're right.” Selina made her way to him. “ Sweetie, you know how I told you you need to be sure it stays alight at night? Well it’s night right now.” She winked to him, shuffling back to her chair. She had refused to laugh at the blush on Harry’s face, but she would definitely be telling Wilma about it later.

She could see Harry square his shoulders, and then he raised his hand over the Log, and moved his hand slowly over it. Almost immediately flames of all sorts of colours burned from it. She had grabbed Wilma’s hand in a tight grip, and they shared a look. Wandless verbal Magic, from an eleven year old! And he didn’t even look phased by it. She almost spoke before stopping herself as Harry began.

“On the First night of Yule, I, Heir Harry James Potter, ask for Blessings from Magic as we Celebrate this year's Yule .” His voice started out quiet but soon filled the Hall. “ First I ask for the Blessing of Silence. May what we do and say these Celebrated Days be kept among those who take part.” A few had turned to Selina, as Matron, she would feel if the Blessing took effect, as it would settle on the wards of Fairhaven. She felt the slight tingle of it settling into place, and nodded to those who had wondered. Wilma had tightened her grip, but shook her head when Selina went to ask. She would tell her later.

“ We ask for our next Blessing as well. May all those of House Potter and House Greengrass, and those considered Friend of Family of both Houses, know true safety, from both physical and magical harm during this Yule Celebrations.”

She felt when the Blessing settled onto her, as well as Wilma, seeing how their Nephew and his family were also affected. She planned to tell Harry that while him asking for the Blessing to extend to the Greengrass House was kind, but would not happen as he was not of House Greengrass, when she heard multiple gasps and whispers from other members of her Family. She turned to see looks of awe and confusion on everyone’s faces, as she realized the Blessing had in fact extended to them. A look of wonder on Wilma’s face confirmed she had realized it as well.

*************************************************************************************************************

Selina wasn’t to know until much later, but it had not just extended to the people at Fairhaven. Much later the next day, she would receive multiple letters from both Potters and Greengrasses who had been unable to attend, announcing that the Blessings had reached even to them. Some as far as Japan or as close as Scotland.

But Harry had also mentioned friends, and to his friends it reached out to as well.

____________________________________________________________________________

In an undisclosed location, because Blaise was like that, Blaise sat on a rock, waves crashing quietly below him. The sun had not set for him yet, and he had found himself wanting solitude. At the Mansion up the path, his mother was happily talking, laughing and dancing with the other adults. He had been right when he informed Harry and Theo there would be eligible Witches and Wizards here, just not his age. In fact the closest person to his age was twenty, if one did not count the toddlers and babies, and Blaise most certainly did not. They weren’t human until they were potty-trained as far as he was concerned. 

He let the sounds of the waves calm him. It was at this moment of peace that Harry’s Blessing reached him. He would later say he was not surprised by it, but a passing shepherd on one of the hills above, would confirm the normally suave boy had nearly fallen into the ocean. It was a warmth that Blaise could only compare to Harry himself, and he found himself smiling.

____________________________________________________________________________

Neville was sitting at the dining room table. Gran had refused to allow him to Hunt for the Yule Log, claiming he would find a way to mess it up and shame his parents. His Uncle had already gotten drunk, and now the pair were screaming and yelling at each other. From Neville’s perspective they were both arguing about his inadequacies and he had no idea why they were fighting if they both agreed he was a failure. No other Longbottom had accepted an invite, which was somehow his fault as well.

He had been playing with his food, not having much of an appetite, when Harry’s Blessing washed over him. It filled his very being with acceptance and joy that he was able to ignore his Gran and Uncle’s words. High from the feeling, boldly got up, and left them, neither actually noticing his exit. He found himself at his parents bedroom door, hesitating only a moment before the Blessing practically pushed him into action. The Elves were given orders to keep the room clean, but to touch nothing. As such his parents' beds were unmade, and what Neville could only assume was his mother’s perfume filled the air. He made a few steps towards the bed, before he drew his wand and locked the door with as many charms as Harry had tried to teach him. Maybe it was from Harry’s Blessing or maybe it was because he truly wanted it, they all held. He removed his robes and his shoes, before burrowing himself in his parents beds, immersing in their smells and magic that still lingered. He would deal with the fallout tomorrow.

____________________________________________________________________________

Theo was bored out of his mind. Leave it to the Malfoy’s to turn a simple Blessing into a full scale parade. Draco was practically glowing under the praise of Lord Malfoy, who had claimed the Yule Log they had found was the ‘Greatest in Malfoy History’. It was a log. Theo had already found the Nott Yule Log earlier that day with his father and his brother Tristen. Lord Malfoy had allowed all the Families they had invited, fireplaces in the smaller unused rooms of Malfoy Manor for their own Yule Logs.

Theo had nearly choked on his own spit when he felt Harry’s magic wash over him. He barely held his laughter in, letting a small quiet chuckle that had his Father raising an eyebrow at him, before he settled down. His Father’s potential Lecture was more than enough to stop all outward reactions, but in his head he couldn’t stop laughing. All he could imagine was the look of abject horror on the Malfoy’s faces to know that Harry’s Blessing from Fairhaven Manor had been powerful enough to reach even him. He had no doubt that if it stretched far enough to him then Blaise and Neville, not to mention Professor Snape, would be feeling it as well. He let another chuckle escape, earning him a clearing of his Father’s throat in warning. He could only smile at him though, for no doubt his Father’s reaction would be grand as well.

____________________________________________________________________________

Aggie had misplaced her matches. Even without magic of her own, Aggie always celebrated Yule, her Yule Log was just a piece of wood Blessed by a local Hag. It sat in the fireplace of her living room, surrounded by unlit candles. But she had lost her matches, and was not unable to light any of it. She had fallen into her reading chair in disappointment. She was almost certain that the matchbook was in her nightstand, but alas it was gone. 

It would be her first year since the death of Edward, that she would be unable to light the Log on the first night, and although she could not ask for a Blessing it still tore at her heart. A breath of cold air blew past her face, and she started to fret that there was a draft, when a sudden warmth overtook her. Instantly she felt the presence of Harry, and she relaxed instantly. She closed her eyes and took a moment to just sit and accept the peace and warmth that flooded her small cottage. 

When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help but let out a gasp as she saw her Yule Log burning brightly in the fireplace, surrounded by all the candles, now lit as well with different coloured flames.

“That boy.” She whispered, a single tear flowing down her cheek.

____________________________________________________________________________

Severus was not brooding (he was), in his private quarters at Hogwarts. He had not felt comfortable staying at Potter Manor even for a night without Harry. Nor would he willingly return to Spinner’s End, and so he found himself back at Hogwarts. Albus was thankfully away, so he did not have to deal with the man. However, having to use Filius’ grate had alerted the smaller Professor to his presence, and the menace had the audacity to inform Minerva he had returned. He had just sat through the most agonizing dinner ever. Minerva and Filius both subtlety, and not so subtly trying to figure out where he had been. Minerva was quite certain that all the excuses Filius had given were lies and Filius was just plain nosy. He was almost certain that the dour man’s disappearance was centered around Harry and he knew just the right questions to get reactions from him.

Thankfully a quick reminder that Minerva was in charge of well over one hundred students who had remained from the Holidays while Albus was away, had her rushing out of his private rooms. It had taken quiet confirmations of Harry’s health and safety to get the Ravenclaw Head to leave. 

He frowned at the bottle of fire whiskey which now had no more than a third of its contents left. Silently cursing the other two Professors for being able to drink obscene amounts of alcohol, Severus poured himself another glass, taking a large sip. The heat of the alcohol settling rather uncomfortably in his stomach. Harry’s Blessing of course took that moment to hit him, and he dropped the glass as it took over.

Memories of Lily’s smile, and Harry’s laugh took over in his mind, and even a few positive memories of James. Severus was stunned, having never felt the Blessings of Yule, and he took far longer than he cared to admit to collect himself. The first thing he did was the Vanish the spill, muttering about wasting perfectly good alcohol.

Finished with that, the man made his way over to a pile of gifts he had on his table. It had been disillusioned when Minerva and Filius were there, but he had very little doubt the Charms Professor had at least noticed, if not seen them. Each was for Harry, minus the bottle of wine he would offer to the Matron as a gift for allowing him to take part in the Celebrations. He couldn't help but worry that Harry wouldn’t like any of the gifts, but those thoughts were quickly swayed by the Blessing. Harry would love them all, if only because they came from him. Deciding, Severus prepared himself for bed. It would be a long day tomorrow, and he had promised Harry he would be there in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too many splits?


	24. Chapter 24: the Warding Ceremony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my charger for my tablet died tragically so this entire chapter was written on my phone. There will be a lot more mistakes than usual so forgive me. 
> 
> Small mentions of abuse and anxiety in this one. Mentioned in passing and not at all graphic.

  
  


Harry was wide awake well before he was supposed. Today was to be an eventful day after all. Sev would be joining them sometime around lunchtime, having sent Harry a confirmation letter. Harry still laughed at his own letter to the dour man. 

He had started it soon after Aunt Selina had ended the Feast and dismissed everyone to bed. Harry had carefully written nearly four pages. Being sure that every single sentence was specifically about the people he had met and the events that had taken place. Signing it at the bottom, he couldn't help let out a little whoop of joy as he watched each letter and punctuation fade away from the pages, starting from the top. Soon the four pages sat blank in front of him, minus the first page, headlined with  _ Dear Severus, _ and the last page marked with  _ Love Harry _ . Harry happily folded the pages together, and placed them in a nearby envelope. He used the new Potter Crest stamp to mold the wax used to seal the letter. It was the first gift Aunt Selina and Aunt Wilma had given him and he was going to use it as much as possible. 

Harry had very little doubt as he watched Hedwig happily fly off with the letter that it would exacerbate the man greatly to receive four pages of blank parchment from him. However Harry knew that Sev would take the letter as proof that the Blessing of Silence had been initiated.

A ceremonial robe hung off a hook on the wardrobe across the room, put out barely a few seconds before Harry had woken by a House Elf, who had popped off and was currently being consoled by another Elf over almost being seen. The much older Elf kindly informed the other one that Heir Potter was a very different kind of Wizard, and that he would not have been upset in the least, her smart black robes with the Potter Crest glistening in the glow from the flames of the oven.

Harry had struggled a bit with all the buttons and sashes, thankful that he had woken up early to give him plenty of time to prepare himself. As he was flattening out a few wrinkles he had made putting the robes on, a knock at his door alerted him to a presence. A quick 'Come in' had Aunt Wilma opening the door with a surprised look after seeing he was not only awake but ready as well.

" Usually we have to wake everyone up for this Ceremony, especially the children." She exclaimed. " Selina feels it needs to be a 'personal' touch. Personally I think she just enjoys making people suffer." She laughed at her wife's shenanigans.

" I've always been forced to be up early, so I've never really gotten over it." Harry had responded, far to excited for the Ceremony to realize he had let something about his home life slip, as well as missing the stutter in his Aunt's step as she asked him to aid her in waking up the rest of the children. Harry had happily accepted. 

A loud boom, followed by a loud male voice screaming ' **Selina!!!** ' had both Harry and Aunt Wilma giggling.

" Will we be waking them up like that?" He remembered that she had knocked politely on his door, and couldn't help being a bit disappointed when she told him she usually wakes everyone that way.

" Perhaps if one knows the incantation  _ Buttio,  _ it might create a loud noise, and only a loud noise." She had seen the disappointment flitter across his face, and well who was she to stop a Potter from being a Potter. She also had little doubt that this prodigy of Magic wouldn't take long to pick up the spell. She wasn't disappointed as the sound of what could only be the Hogwarts Express, including its horn, echoed out of the first room causing Aiden to scream out in fright. The boy, just like his father immediately took it for the joke it was, more than happy to follow them to the next room.

Daphne was woken by the sound of dogs barking, Bethany by the loud roars of a pride of Lions, causing her to flail about, and falling out of her bed. Astoria and Angeline who were sharing were woken by bird chirping. Harry stuck to just a simple boom when they entered the rooms of the other children he didn't quite know. Soon everyone had been awoken and were readying themselves for the day, even Aiden had made his way back to his room.

" How did you manage to get the charm to create different sounds?" A Ravenclaw at heart, Wilma was always interested in new things. 

" It just means 'boom' right?" He wasn't really asking though. " So I just figured any loud noise would do, so when I used it in Aiden's room one of two things would happen, the spell would go off with just a boom or it would sound like the Hogwarts Express like I wanted. Either way it would awakened him."

" What if your thought process had actually interrupted the intentions of your Magic and confused it into not producing anything?"

" Honestly, I didn't even think of that." Harry shrugged. He was already working on his own theories of how the Will of the Wizard could change the outcome of a spell. He hadn't really thought about a wizard's Will confusing the spell. It was definitely worth testing later.

Soon enough they all stood out in the back Garden, surrounding a Magnificent statue of a large willow tree. Harry had at first thought it to be living at first, but soon noticed it was made of marble; from ornate and heavily detailed leaves to its roots that did in fact pop out from between the stepping stones around it. Harry was amazed to see its stone leaves and branches sway in the passing dawn breeze.

Everyone from the Feast the night before and even a few others who must have arrived later huddled around the Statue, being surrounded by a large rune circle etched into the stepping stones that had been cleared of the falling snow. Harry saw as the glowed a dimmed copper colour, and he couldn't wait to see what they would do.

Thankfully he didn't have to wait long as Aunt Selina, also dressed in Ceremonial robes, called out to quiet the murmurs of conversation. " Thank you all for coming. As it is the Second Day-" 

"Barely even morning" Jack interrupted, getting a laugh from a few others and a stinging hex from his Aunt, which got even more laughs.

" Anyways, on this, the Second Day we honour the House to which has taken us in this Yule Tidings. As such we now stand at the Warding Stone. We ask those who are able please blend your Magic into the Wards to strengthen them." 

She pointed her wand to the center of the Willow and it flowed open, revealing a magnificent and brilliant emerald. 

" As is Traditions, we begin at Dawn with the Head of House Greengrass, myself and my Family." Lowering her wand, the Matron placed her hand on the emerald, a moment of pure silence, before a sweet melody filled the air an already brightly glowing emerald grew brighter adding a navy blue colour to its aura. Aunt Wilma soon repeated her wife's actions, adding the pink glow of a rising sun to the glow. Eugene and Georgia stepped up next, adding the green of new life on a plant for the man, and a red similar to a simmering flame from his wife.

As Daphne stepped forward. Aunt Selina made to speak again. " Heir Daphne will be giving her Magic to the Wards for the first time. May we accept the honour of witnessing such an action." If anyone had not been quiet before, they were now. Harry could swear if not for the melody the Ward Stone was releasing, he would probably have heard the falling snow land.

The young Heir paused only a moment before she rested her hand on the emerald. The melody cut out immediately, causing Harry to worry that something had gone wrong, but thankfully it came back, stronger and more wonderful than before, almost as if welcoming Daphne. The glow from the emerald, now an ethereal rainbow, soon added a wonderful white glow to itself, burning so brightly for a moment that Harry thought he would go blond, before dimming a bit. A cheer was let out from the crowd and soon Harry joined in, watching the blushing form on her cheeks.

As if planned, and it probably was, the sun finally rose, and Harry caught the moment the first ray hit the emerald, and saw as the runes around them came into full strength, letting out large sparks of energy and creating a gold dome above and around the guests and the Tree.

" As the sun rises so does our Wards. The House Magic has accepted the Gifts from the Main House. At Noon we shall return to allow the Secondary Houses to give theirs, and we shall return at Dusk for Heir Potter to lead those without Greengrass Blood to lend their Magic as well." Harry was still lost in the flowing Wards around him, but at his name being mentioned he made eye contact with his Aunt, only to find both Aunts giving him an appraising stare.

Everyone but the Main Family filed away, congratulating Daphne as they passed her. Harry gave his own, and struggled to not run back to his room to change. The robes were not exactly light, and he almost dreaded having to wear them two more times. Having studied the Event, Harry had learned that he was being honored with the robes, as normally only the Main Family would wear the Ceremonial Robes. But as a close relative to Aunt Selina as well as being the Heir Apparent to a Great and Powerful as well as Ancient and Noble House, Harry was given the robes as a sign of respect and he would not spit in their faces by refusing to adorn them.

He spent the next few hours reading and doing his homework after taking part in a large breakfast in the Hall with everyone else. He blushed when he noticed much of the leftover pastries and bread he had made for the Feast represented much of the food offered. The pinkening of his face got worse, as several people came over to thank him for making them and asking for recipes.

He nearly jumped for joy when Aunt Wilma asked if he could join her and Aunt Selina in their private study. It was also entirely unfair of them to bring him into a study that had more books than Hogwarts and not allow him to read any of them.

" You are more than welcome to come in here later with one of us to read until you eyes fall out, " Aunt Selina joked," " However right now, we have a few things we wished to discuss with you."

Harry was always hesitant when an adult wanted to 'discuss' things. The Durlseys' discussions usually led to beatings, and in primary school it led to missing out on snack time and recess. Hogwarts had helped, especially when the Professors' discussions were always about how well he was doing. Still that anxiety lingered and Harry was tempted to take one of Sev's potions he had in his pocket.

" It's nothing bad, Harry." Wilma assured him, seeing him getting a bit anxious. " It's just well, I've noticed a few things with you concerning magic. And we wished to ask you about it." Harry nodded, hoping that it wouldn't be a long conversation, Sev would be there soon and he wanted to be one of the first to greet him.

" I noticed that when the Blessing of Silence was added to the Wards, that you reacted." It wasn't really a question but Harry still nodded in agreement. " And just a few hours ago, it almost seemed as though you were reacting to the Wards and Family Magic as well?"

"Yeah, when the emerald accepted Daphne's magic, it did get quite a bit too bright." 

"Harry, would you allow me to cast a charm on you?" Aunt Wilma asked. " It won't do anything to you. It will however give us a bit more information, to hopefully understand what is happening." Harry was hesitant to allow anyone to charm him, but he sort of trust the pair, nodding his consent, he sat straight and unmoving, knowing that movement can sometimes disrupt a charm. She passed her wand over his head quickly, a pale blue light at its tip. When she stopped the motion it turned a bright red. The couple shared a look and Harry couldn't help noticing the look of disappointment on Aunt Selina's face.

" Did something go wrong?" 

" Ah no Harry. Everything is fine." Aunt Selina spoke up for the first time. " it just was not the result that we expected."

" The charm was used to see if you had Greengrass blood." Aunt Wilma took over. " Only those of the direct line should be able to feel connection to a Manor's Wards, so we wanted to test your blood." She shook her head. " But since you quite literally have no Greengrass blood in you, we are at a loss. The only other explanation is that you are sensitive to magic. And even then you'd have to be hypersensitive."

Harry had listened as best he could, but his thoughts were stuck on why they would be disappointed he was not Greengrass blood. They were connected by his Potter blood, wasn't that enough? He had almost blurted out that he and Sev had discovered he was hypersensitive, but after coming to the conclusion they were upset he wasn't a Greengrass, Harry wasn't willing to give them anything. There was silence for a bit as they all tried to digest the information they each had picked up from the event

  
  


" Well. Perhaps it is a puzzle for another day?" Aunt Selina asked, mostly to Aunt Wilma, who was giving Harry a speculative glance.

" Yes honey. I believe you are quite right. Well Harry, perhaps you should head to the Entrance Hall, I believe Potions Master Snape will be arriving soon."

He gave them both an odd look before taking the dismissal.

***************************************************

" Why were you looking at him like he was an experiment that went wrong?" Selina asked.

" Not wrong per say, but a different reaction than I expected?" Wilma questioned more to herself. There was much more to that boy than either of them knew. He had closed off when they were talking about the result and she was sure he knew the answer they were looking for, but she thought it wasn't because of the result. There had been something else. When she had said as much to Selina, the other woman agreed, knowing her instincts were usually right on the money. It was expected what with the Family Gift Wilma had inherited from the Flints.

" Now I believe you wished to be prepared?" Wilma alluding to how Selina wanted to integrate the Potions Master as soon as possible. The vase shattered as Selina remembered that the Meddler's Puppet was arriving shortly.

***************************************************

Harry could barely hold his excitement when Sev stepped through the fireplace. Only the patient reminder from the man's letter that the Blessing of Silence was not a complete protection against letting secrets out had him stopping from running over and hugging him. While it still raised questions as to why Harry had invited the Potions Master to the Yule Celebrations, more questions and problems would come if people found they were close, especially if it somehow got back to the Headmaster. As such Harry waited until Jack and Phina welcomed the gruff man into the nearby sitting room and it was just them to hug him tightly. 

Sev returned the hug with gusto, finding him missing the impertinent brat over the last day or so. How Lily and James would mock him, well just James, probably not even James.

" Have you been well Harry?"

"Yes, I can't wait to tell-" He was interrupted as the door was opened and Aunt Selina walked briskly in, her cane hitting the floor loudly.

" Ah. Master Snape, here you are. After my Nephew informed me you had arrived early. I had expected you in my office, however I find you in a study with Harry." She claimed with a smile that Harry knew was almost mocking.

" Harry, it will just be a moment, I must have a few moments alone with the Potions Master. I have need to add him to the Wards as well as to the Blessing of Silence." She missed the scowl on Harry's face as she turned her attention to Sev. Aunt Wilma, who stood behind her wife had not, nor had Sev.

" It is quite fine." Sev responded. " My apologies for not heading straight to your office." Harry had started to argue about how he had only been there for a few minutes, but Sev quieted him with a simple look. " Please show me to your office so we may talk."

Harry was left alone in the sitting room, fuming. Aunt Wilma had given him another questioning look as she closed the door behind Sev, but he was too busy trying to explode. He didn't like being lied to, and after what had happened earlier he wasn't exactly happy with his Aunts.

***************************************************

The Matron sat heavily in her chair behind her desk, accidently reminding Severus of Albus. Lady Greengrass stood politely to her left side. He had been offered a chair, and he accepted visibly adding a cushioning charm to it, not even denying himself the joy of watching the Matron bristle. He was not attempting to get Harry out of the game that Albus was playing only to have him being manipulated by another elderly person who should mind their own business. 

Much as the pair were doing to him presently, Severus took the time to inspect his hosts. It took only a few moments for him to gather that the Magical as well as the physical threat was the Matron herself, and that Lady Greengrass would be the verbal enemy. It was she that he would have to pull to his side if needed. He almost hated being in a position like this. But Harry was worth it. The more allies he brought in the better of Harry would be in the long run. His thoughts turned back to the pair and he couldn't help but think how much they emulated James and Lily. It had to be a Potter thing to appear almost predatory while having their spouse look so innocent at their side. 

" Well Master Snape, I can presume that you know why you are here. So I must ask what is your game?" The Matron started. " Or rather what is your Master's game?"

" I'm afraid Matron Greengrass, that I have no idea what you are talking about." He silently laughed at the look of anger on her face when he played dumb. He could almost understand why it was Harry's go to action when he was being interrogated. 

" Do not play coy with me, Snape. We all know you are nothing but a lapdog to Albus!" Matron Greengrass growled. " But what is your plan for the Blessing of Silence! How will you get around that to inform the Meddler what is happening in my home?" Lady Greengrass had placed her hand firmly on her wife's shoulder, stopping her from giving up more than they had intended.

" I can freely claim i have no knowledge on ways to go around the Blessing of Silence." Severus admitted, quite unsure as to where this conversation would be going. He had not expected to be called out for being Albus' 'lapdog'. " I can assure you however that the Headmaster will not know what goes on in your House. I am not here to spy on you."

" No. Not on us. I can believe that. But on Harry? Yes. That is the man's true target." The Matron agreed. " You are aware that the Blessing was his idea correct? Why would he need to ask for the Blessing if not to keep what he does with his True Family from the eyes and ears from that doodling fool?"

That idea hadn't even appeared in the former Spy's head. He really was slacking. Now that it was there though he could clearly see where they were coming from. From their view; Albus himself had permitted Harry to spend Yule here, forcing him to invite Severus as his plus one so that the man could still have an influence on the boy. Said boy not actually wanting the Headmaster to know what would happen. So he would research and try to find a solution and thereby discovering the Blessing of Silence. Yes, it would have been entirely plausible. At least from an outside view. From someone who did not know that Harry had technically snuck around the Headmaster to be here. Albus still believed Harry was at his Aunt's house. The irony that he technically was, was not lost of him.

" It is quite good that I helped Mr. Potter discover the Blessing then." He gave them a rather bland smile, waiting to see how they'd react. As much as Severus would like to have the Greengrass' on his and Harry's side, it was not his place to reveal Harry's secrets, and even though he was one it was not his to give out. " Matron, let me lay aside your concerns. While I am very much in the Headmaster's pocket" that sentence left a bitter taste in his mouth," when it comes to Mr. Po- when it comes to Harry, the boy is and always will be put first." He felt a slight tickle in his mind, and turned to glare fully at Lady Greengrass who looked too unrepentant for trying to read his mind.

" He tells the truth Honey." She informed her spouse. 

" Then why was Harry upset today! If not for the arrival of this man!" Matron Greengrass demanded. " We have tried for years to gain custody of Harry. And each and every time that conniving fraud of a Headmaster put on his Second Coming of Merlin Mask, and turned the Wizengamot against us. And now suddenly the one man that both the Light and Dark can agree is his second in command is turning against him? Why?"

" For Harry of course." Was his only response. His mind reeling at the idea that the Matron and her wife had battled for Harry. Obviously Harry didn't know this. Severus only wished he had known as well. While he tried to collect his thoughts, Lady Greengrass had managed to calm down her wife.

" Well, what now?" Lady Greengrass asked. 

" Now you allow me to stay for Harry, and if Harry wants, we work together to help him." Severus responded as if it should have been the most obvious thing.

" But it can't be that simple. He was closed off and angry the closer we got to your arrival. Nowhere near the happy bubbly boy he was yesterday." Matron Greengrass was obviously not ready to let it go.

"Perhaps it was not my arrival that bothered him? In fact I am inclined to believe he was overjoyed to see me." Severus smuggly responded. He had forgotten how much fun it was to irritate a Potter. " Most likely it was an action from one of you. As he seemed fine with Minister Potter and his wife upon my arrival." As much as he would like to let them flounder, in the long run, it'd be better if they got along. " I cannot tell you much, as it is Harry's story, but he does not enjoy being lied to or being left in the dark."

" What does that mean?" Lady Greengrass asked, sensing there was a direct example on the tip of the man's tongue. 

" Harry is a Ravenclaw, and while he is attempting to blow the stereotypes of the Houses away, the one thing he truly takes from the Claws is that he has a thirst for knowledge." He paused to make sure the couple before him understood. " He is well aware of what the Blessing of Silence entails. As such, he is aware that the moment I stepped foot into this Manor, the Blessing took affect. He is also aware that I would not have been allowed past the fireplace if I were not keyed even temporarily into the Wards." He raised his eyebrow at the burst of colour on the Matron's face. It had seemed she understood exactly what he meant not. " I would rectify that as soon as possible. He may forgive quickly and generously like his mother, but he also holds a grudge like a Potter, just ask your Grand-niece." 

Deeming the meeting over, Severus rose, bowed to his hosts and made his way to the door, only to pause. " You should also inform Harry that you have fought the right to raise him. He is unaware of this, and I feel it might help bridge whatever gap is there." He turned away and left, taking several steps before the brat jumped out and hugged him. 

" So how was it?" Harry asked, tempted to go into the office and yell at them if Sev told him it went poorly. At that very moment he was more than willing to pack his things and leave with the man.

" It went well. We reached an understanding." He quietly informed Harry of their suspicions and it helped to calm Harry's anger towards Aunt Selina, accepting Sev's beliefs from their point of view. It did not calm him completely but it did allow him to forgive them for mistreating Sev. His stomach growled and he wondered if they had time to eat before the next Ceremony.

***************************************************

Harry found it funny how this part of the Ceremony called for High Noon, even though at this time of the year the sun barely rose high enough. Still they were back at the Tree, with Aunt Selina opening the Ward Stone. The guests that were of Greenhouse blood each offered their magic to the stone. Harry had pointedly looked at nothing but the stone, noting how muted the colors that were being added were, there were quite a few times that if Harry hadn't felt the Wards flare, he would have not believed they were adding magic. It went both quicker and slower than Harry had expected. Until only himself, Sev, Jack and Phina were left. Jack and Phina had both agreed to take part in the third Ceremony with Harry so he would not be alone. 

Juliet had openly glared at Harry as she added her magic, a purple colour, to the stone during the second Ceremony, earning her a long chat behind a Silencing ward for Jack and Phina. It was a dynamic Harry didn't understand and he found himself asking Aiden while they were hunting for Mud Golem, Aunt Selina claimed was running amok in the Greenhouse and had asked Aiden to find. He was also believed there wasn't a Mud Golem and she had just given the poor energetic boy a chance to burn off some of it.

" Auntie Juliet is an orphan like you." Aiden responded. He wasn't exactly the best at tack so Harry was quick to forgive him.

" Was she adopted? "

" Not really. Umm Grandma and Grandpa, dad's parents, were killed in a Death Eater raid while visiting England. Juliet was starting her first year at Hogwarts, and after the attack happened, Dad had supposedly Apparated across the English Channel and much of England in one jump, pulling her out of school immediately. A few days later, you killed their boss, and everything ended." Aiden paused. " Me and Bethany were babies like you, only a few months older. Dad and mom took Auntie Juliet in, she refused to leave their side for a while and so she was homeschooled."

It was a lot for Harry to process and he didn't really feel like it at the moment. Perhaps talking about it with Sev would help him figure out why the answer was important to him. He did ask Aiden one more thing though.

" Why does your mom look so familiar?" 

" Oh. That's because mom was a Malfoy." It clicked immediately, the pale skin and the platinum blonde hair were identical to Heir Malfoy's.

" Wait what do you mean 'was'?"

Aiden paused at this and tilted his heading thought. " I guess with the Blessing in place I can tell you. Mom was disowned when she married dad. Apparently a Lesser branch of the Potter line wasn't enough for an even Lesser branch of the Malfoy line she was in. They tried a few years back, after dad became Minister to renounce the disownment, but mom refused."

They both fell into silence, hunting again for the Mud Golem. Harry was quite surprised when Aiden actually found it. He almost died laughing at the Muddy version of the Headmaster silently screamed at them, spewing mud all about. 

***************************************************

The Final Ceremony took place at Dusk, sky already a blackish violet. Again everyone stood under the dome. Now a shimmery silver colour, sparking gold as Aunt Selina once again opened the Ward Stone.

" This is the final gift given to our Wards. Now is the time for our guests, those not of blood but of respect. Please gift the Wards your magic." 

Jack and Phina went first, producing a regal violet from Jack and a majestic lavender from Phina. A few other guests went next, and Harry shifted on his feet only stopping as Sev rested his hand on his shoulder. Soon enough it was Sev's turn, and he bowed deeply to the Ward Stone before pushing his magic into it. It was the colour of midnight, hints of violet and blues at the edges. It truly took Harry's breath away.

He walked over as soon as Sev had stepped back. He unfortunately had a few lines to repeat.

" As Heir to House Potter and connected by Blood to the Head of House Greengrass, it is my honour to offer my magic last. May our Houses be brought closer with my offering." He held his hand over rather emerald, letting himself just feel the magic coming over in waves. Hundreds of Greengrasses and their Familes and guests had put magic into it. Those long gone still leaving an imprint here. It brought a smile to his face. " Please accept my magic." Gold, bright and pure folded into the rainbow before him, brightly and warm. He heard gasps from behind but couldn't bring himself to look away as his magic flowed all around the emeralds aura, mingling and connecting with all the other magic. A ringing had filled his ears and Harry found himself struggling to remain standing. Just as suddenly though he was released and he could step back.

" The Second Day of Yule is complete. House Greengrass thanks you for lending your magic to our Wards. A feast awaits." Aunt Selina's voice shook as she spoke and Harry found he was the center of attention and almost everyone looked at him in wonder or awe. Sev was the first, soon to be followed by Jack and Phina to help Harry away. As he was still struggling to stand. He spent much of the Feast in a daze, barely paying attention to anyone. Sev made sure he ate while Phina and Georgia sent away anyone who wished to speak with Harry, even, he noted passively, Aunt Selina. Before too long, Sev had him down a handful of potions and asleep in his bed, oblivious to the meeting of adults in Aunt Selina's study.


	25. Chapter 25: Rest, Fasting, Remembrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild mentions of child abuse, concerning starvation.
> 
> Also my charger is still on back order. So I am still typing this out on my phone. :(

Severus grumbled as his hand reached out to shut off his alarm clock. The bloody thing had been going off long enough. He reached out to his wand, sighing as he realized he couldn't use it. Damn the Third Day of Yule. Rising from his bed, he wrapped himself in his bathrobe, and slipped on his slippers, both black of course, and made his way to the connecting bathroom.

Sometime later the man walked back into his room, steam trailing after him. Dressing quickly, Severus opened the chest he had brought with him, muttering obscenities, when he was unable to Accio what he wanted, and being forced to search through a penthoria of objects he had amassed. Normally the man preferred to fill his pockets, with extending charms, however the gifts for Harry were too cumbersome, and he had been forced to employ the use of a chest, under the erroneous belief it was empty before he placed Harry's gifts into it. The travel had somehow jumbled the contents up, and the man cursed the Third Day once again. 

After much suffering Severus found all fourteen presents, taking the initiative, and pulling each one out instead of leaving them. He piled them in one of the empty wardrobes available, refusing to store his clothes there. He left only three, as he was two days behind, on the desk resting in the corner.

He found himself rather hungry and aching for a cup of coffee, once again cursing the Third Day. Fully clothed and mostly prepared to deal with others, he made his way to the door, a knock paused his progress.

"Sev, it's Harry. Are you awake?" A muffled voice came from the otherside. Shaking his head, Sev opened the door to face, Harry, who had the largest smile on his face as he held out a tray with much too much food, as well as a pot of coffee. 

" Well, come in then." He stepped away, attempting to take the tray from the boy, only to pull back at the scowl he was given. Harry carried the tray all the way to the far end of the room, where a simple table and chairs had been laid out in the night by House Elves.

" There wasn't much to choose from in the Kitchens. Everyone seemed to be in there making breakfast, or at least attempting to." Harry recounted how much fire and burnt food there was, including one of the Greengrass Cousins who somehow set fire to a glass of water. " I almost felt bad for them, but everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves." 

" Such a shame I missed all the action." Severus deadpanned. " It is always the same on the Third Day. Witches and Wizards who spend far too little time in the kitchen without magic, should not be allowed entry on the cursed Day."

" I don't have any problem with today." Harry cheerily responded, putting way too much jam on his toast. " A day without magic isn't even that hard."

" Coming from a muggle raised Wizard that is not saying much." Severus drawled. " Speak to me in ten years when magic fills every aspect of your life." He once again cursed as he spilled some jam on his robes. 

" Why bother Celebrating a day without magic then?" Harry continued. "If it's such an inconvenience?"

" It has a twofold reasoning. One, it is meant as a day to help recover one's magical core. It directly follows the day Families add to their Wards. Magical fatigue is quite common after offering one's magic. Second, it is to affirm the belief and ideas of not taking magic for granted. It was believed that Witches and Wizards are to use this day to realize how lucky we are for our Magic." Severus lectured. " Unfortunately, most dunderheads rely on their magic nearly every minute of every day, thus causing untold chaos when they are suddenly without. "

" So, to celebrate that we have magic, we don't use magic?"

" If one wishes to simplify it yes." Severus responded. Earning a cheeky smile for the boy. " House Elves, potions, and preset runes and charms are all not allowed." He pulled out a potion from one of his pockets handing it to Harry. " Unfortunately for you, medicinal potions are excluded, and you are still far too small. Drink up." Quietly laughing at the scowl thrown his way.

Breakfast was quiet after that, both enjoying the company and the food. Severus had to admit the eleven year old was an excellent cook. The reasons why made the man's blood boil, however he was thankful that Harry seemed to enjoy cooking.

Harry had refused to let the leftover food go to waste, and he spirited away with the tray, leaving the pot of coffee much to Severus' joy. He rather quickly returned, and Severus jokingly claimed he must have used magic to travel so quickly.

" I wouldn't ruin the day by just speeding myself up!" The boy replied indignantly. " But, well what exactly happens if you do use magic today?"

"Honestly? No one can agree. Some believe that those who use magic are cursed, and others claim those who don't are Blessed, although there is very little proof for either." Severus admitted. " Healers have proven that a day without magic does help one's core heal, and most agree the day after the Warding is best for it. Witches and Wizards alike, all across the world, give claims of benefits and negative effects, but studies aren't really conclusive."

"What do you think?"

" It comes down to how the Witch or Wizard in question feels. Some partake purely for Traditional reasons, while others believe it will better them." The Potions Master purposely avoiding the question.

"Oh, I guess I'm doing it because of Traditions." Harry pondered. He tried again. " Why are you participating if you hate it?"

Severus knew if he avoided the question again, Harry would let it go. It was something he had started a while back, if Severus avoided a question twice it was forgotten. He was tempted, but he knew Harry would never judge him.

" I believe, or rather, I want to believe that a Sacrifice has to always produce an outcome." He responded staring into his coffee cup. " It needs to be worth something."

Silence filled the room, and he hesitated to look at the boy, but when he did he saw that Harry was staring off into the distance.

" Yeah, Sacrifices do need to be worth something." Came his reply after a time. Something caught his eye, and with a quick 'I'll be back, Harry ran out of the room, just as fast, with a package in his hands.

"Here, this is for you." Hissing from the boy's neck interrupted him. " Yes, yes I know. Saffron wants to make sure I tell you she helped with the gift, well part of it." He thrust the package in Severus' face. " It's actually three gifts in one box, for the last three days, but I know how much you 'detest your time being wasted so for efficiency sake it's all in one box." He rambled, turning red in the face." You can uh, open it now, or later with your other gifts."

" Other gifts?"

" The ones you got over there on the desk."

It took a moment for Severus to realize what Harry had meant, still rather thrown off at receiving gifts from him, to realize what he had meant. " Those are not for me Harry, they are for you. I am also behind in gifting them to you as I had not wished to mail them to you." He would never admit he wished to see the boy's face when he opened them.

Harry appeared stunned, turning a bright pink as what Severus had said sunk in. He slowly walked over to them as the man urged him to get them and bring them over. He stared intently at them, almost as if they would disappear when he looked away. Severus gave him a moment, before urging him again to open them telling him to start with the largest.

Harry hesitated only a moment before he ripped away at the wrapping, revealing a miniature glass terrarium. " Wow Sev, it's nice, but I think it's too small for Saffron." The boy apologetically mentioned. 

" It is in its present state, however that is because it is Shrunk. Tomorrow or at a later date, it can be expanded. The vendor claimed it can triple in size if needs be. He also claimed that it can house three full grown ashwinders if necessary."

The boy stared at it, unsure of what to make of the gift. He was grateful for it, but he had no idea what to do with it. Saffron very much preferred her compartment in his trunk, and the terrarium was clear, meaning she would be easily spotted if she were resting in it.

Severus watched as the confusion on his face took over. " Perhaps it would help, if I were to tell you your gifts this year are themed? Each is a piece of the puzzle that will be solved on the Twelfth Day. Open another."

Harry complied, finding a hallowed branch. Clearly something meant for the terrarium. He put it aside, before turning to the last gift, which was almost certainly a book.

" Before you are to open this one, I had meant to make this the second to last gift, however a rather angry elder woman argued that to deprive you of it for any longer than necessary would ban me from her Library for eternity." 

Harry smiled as he gently removed the wrapping, revealing the book's greenish cover.  Snakes are Necessary: 200 Potions Ingredients to Harvest Safely from Live Snakes and Sepents. It was well worn, and seemed to shake itself awake under Harry's hand. He opened the cover, nearly dropping it as he read what was written onside.

_ Sev, _

_ Found this in the Potter's Library. These bloody rich folk do not even understand what they have! This was located in the 'Cooking' section for Merlin's sake. _

_ As Lady Potter, I have the authority to gift this to you belatedly in honour of earning your Masters in Potions. _

_ Congrations. I am only sorry it took this long for me to as James put it 'pull my head from my ass' and reach out to you. I am glad we are close again. _

_ Love, Lily. _

  
  


Tears fell from his eyes, and he couldn't help laughing as he imagined his mom cursing. " Sev, I can't accept this." Even as he subconsciously pulled it closer to his chest.

" You can and you will. I cannot, unfortunately give you much from your mother, let alone from them both. But this is one that can be viewed as connecting them both to you. I have read the book far too many times." He soon found Harry in his arms pulling him into a tight hug. 

Sometime later after Harry had pulled away. And skimmed through the book. He remembered that Severus hadn't opened his gift, and the boy practically threw it back at the man, forcing him to catch it.

" As I said, it's three gifts in one so whatever you pull out first is your first gift." Harry stated, obviously nervous.

Severus gave the gift a cursory look, happily noting the wrapping wasn't Slytherin colours, but a very nice lavender colour. He hadn't realized he told Harry his favourite colour, however he wasn't surprised Harry had remembered. The boy was a sponge when it came to information.

Unwrapping it gently, he found a rather nondescript box. He raised an eyebrow to the boy who motioned with his hands to continue opening it. The first thing he noticed were a handful of potions bottles in an assortment of sizes. He had first thought they were empty but further investigation proved they were in fact filled. It lifted the smallest of the bottles, and held it up, letting the liquid inside catch the light. 

" That's part of the gift from Saffron. All the bottles are. That one is some of her blood." The man immediately turned his gaze to Harry, who squirmed a bit. " It was an accident! She cut herself on a rock by the Lake and demanded I collect it before she healed. There's also scales, her venom, a few of her feathers, and a fang or two. She wanted to give you her entire shed skin, but the last two were broken and she claims they wouldn't do." 

" Tell her thank you." 

The aforementioned snake hissed. " She says you are welcome. Her understanding English is getting better. I think she's spending too much time with Blaise." The snake hissed again. " I'm sorry, apparently it is Theo who is the chatterbox." Severus wasn't sure if she was telling the truth as Mr. Nott was one of quietest Snakes he's ever taught. He turned his attention back to the vials, seeing that there was an envelope attached to the largest one. " That's the letter of authentication from the Goblins, both confirming they are truly Occamy parts, as well as proof you received them from a legal source."

" You registered her and your bond with the Ministry?" Severus couldn't help the tiny bit of anger slipping out at the stupidity.

" Of course not!" Harry responded not liking the accusation. " I registered with the Goblins as Vault Owner 0309, who then registered the Vault with the Ministry. Technically they have no idea who owns the vault and the Goblins have made certain it cannot be linked back to me."

" I am sorry." Severus hated that he had jumped to conclusions. Harry only shook his head and motioned for him to continue. The next thing he removed from the box was a pair of black leather gloves. Clearly not meant for potions, Severus donned them, enjoying the softness.

" The mail order claimed they are alpaca fur, and goat skin. So they are warm, soft and hopefully durable."

Severus removed them, carefully placing them back into the box, he could feel several latent charms on them, and assumed they were warming charms. He turned his attention to the final gift, pulling out a rolled piece of parchment. He was rather surprised and mildly disappointed when it was blank.

Harry didn't even give him a chance to ask before he explained himself. " You know the paired journals that Aggie gave me, so we can keep in touch? Well she also sent me all over her friend's notes and well while I can't really understand much of it, I'm pretty sure most of it is written in Greek, I was, with the help of the Weasley Twins, able to decipher and copy some of the runes. I paired that parchment to another. I hope to eventually understand the rest of the woman's notes to be able to make a full journal. I figured that we could-" Severus could tell he was surprised when the man reached over and pulled him into a tight hug.

" Thank you Harry." He silently marveled at what Harry had accomplished, knowing it would bother him if he mentioned it allowed.

" I wish we could test it, not that I haven't already, but with the whole no magic day we can't."

Severus repeated his thanks, assuring Harry they would use it the next day.

***************************************************

Harry woke the next day to the parchment on his night stand glowing.

_ I knew it would work. Good morning. _

Harry laughed, responding in kind and getting ready for the day, a slight feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Trying to throw it off Harry drank one of his potions. The Fourth Day was a day of Fasting, and while he had known it was coming and talking with Sev about his concerns, Harry still couldn't relax. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to eat until the midnight Feast, and he couldn't help having flashbacks to the Durlseys. Sev had told him he could in fact eat, but like the day prior it was Traditional and Harry would rather not mess up his first Yule by being weak. 

It took a long conversation with the Potions Master to stop that thinking, but it still nagged him. It helped that he was allowed to drink water at least, a major difference from the Durlseys. Still Harry attempted to spend much of the day distracted. Saffron had remained conscious, aware that her Familiar needed her, she would sleep later. 

Her whispering hisses soothed his anxiety and Harry soon found himself with Aiden and Daphne. Daphne had accidentally come across Saffron while they were studying, and Harry had let her search his bag for a quill forgetting she was hiding in it. To say the poor Slytherin was shocked was an understatement. It took a lot of convincing for her to even let Saffron rest in her hands. Now whenever Saffron was brought near the girl, she was usually taken away from Harry and draped on the Slytherin.

Aiden had met her while she was exploring the Lake, he had followed all the way back to Harry where she demanded he put a stop to the ' loudly stomping child who had scared away her feast'. Harry had not responded though, and while Aiden was aware of Saffron he did not know Harry could speak to her.

He watched as the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin played multiple games of Wizards chess, with the Hufflepuff winning most games much to Harry's joy and Daphne's disdain. 

" Heir Potter can I have a word?" Harry was surprised to see Bethany looking at him. He hadn't even noticed her entering. He looked at her carefully, unable to sense any hostility from her. He complied and they walked further away. 

" Aiden informed me that he told you of our mother's heritage. I want to know what it will take to not inform Draco." She looked earnestly at him. It honestly took the raven-haired boy a second to realize she was talking about how she is a Malfoy.

" I really had no plans to reveal that to anyone." He looked her in the eyes. " Why would I?"

" It's a strong bargaining chip. Any Slytherin would jump at the chance to have the kind of blackmail." She informed him. " I'd use it in a heartbeat."

"Why?"

" I guess it's a Slytherin thing and you really wouldn't understand." Bethany replied a bit arrogantly.

" Is it the Slytherin Ambition? Or the House's Resourcefulness?" Harry asked. His opinions on the Houses were well known throughout the First Years, having argued for and against them with several other students.

" A bit of both." She responded surprised he did seem to understand. " A Slytherin always uses what they can to get where they can."

" Forgive me but that's bull. Having a goal is noteworthy, but using anything to get there doesn't mean being underhanded and a cheat are not the only way to do that." Harry responded a bit incensed. " You just use things that could destroy a person's life to promote yourself? Why? Are you forgetting the idea of Leadership that House Slytherin is also meant to represent? The idea thT you have to ruin others to promote yourself is disgusting. "

" That's not what-"

" It is what you meant! This is why Slytherins are looked down on. You are literally standing for the negative aspects. There is nothing wrong with having ambitions, nor to use what you can to reach your goals, but these resources aren't just blackmail. Knowledge, friendships, and effort are also tools you could use. Instead you immediately suggest I use blackmail to get what I want from you. Is that what a good leader would do? As I asked Heir Malfoy a while ago, isn't a better Lord someone who raises his friends and allies with him?"

" That's the same thing as using them!" Bethany interrupted. " You're only making them better so you are better too."

" It's not the same though. You aren't using them. Benefiting when they benefit is not the same as walking over their burning house to get where you want to be."

"What does this have to do with asking you what you wanted to keep quiet?"

"Nothing. I want nothing. I'm not like that, needing to bring you down to better myself." Harry responded, tired that she wasn't understanding. " Blackmailing you does not benefit me, because it does not benefit you. It would most likely make you resent me more, and it would hurt me later on. So just let it go." 

He walked away from her, going back to Daphne and Aiden, who had not so subtly watched the explosion Harry had at Bethany.

" You really don't think Slytherins are their own enemies?" Daphne asked as he sat down.

" I think you guys tend to fit the mold that everyone puts you in, the evil and mean House." Harry shook his head. " I don't think the House does it purposely, but Bethany is proof that the negative points of the House are more used. There's more to being a Slytherin than destroying things around you to make yourself better."

" Like how she hasn't just apologized to you, because she thinks she could bring you down to better herself?" Aiden asked.

" Exactly. In the long run her apology will benefit us both, but until she gets over her selfishness neither of us will be better."

They soon lapsed into silence.

The Feast was far too rich for Harry's stomach and he was more than grateful when Aunt Wilma summoned a House Elf to switch his plate for fruit. Sev had also handed him a few potions, mostly to soothe his stomach while he ate. At the end of the Feast Aunt Selina gave a small speech, thanking everyone for Fasting. 

***************************************************

The Fifth Day was a day of Remembrance. It mostly involved everyone telling stories of loved ones who had died, or were unable to attend. Much of the stories were happy and funny, with very few being somber.

Sev had spent much of the morning with Harry telling him all about his childhood with Lily.

" We had found a tree, the summer after our First Year, that Lily was almost certain contained a Druid. " He absently stirred his coffee. " There was absolutely no proof. In fact it was probably the ugliest, sickliest, and weak tree I have ever seen. Still your mother was hell bent on meeting with the Druid. We spent much of that summer making offerings and caring for the tree. She had even climbed all over it, asking for permission of course, to clean out several old bird nests, and removing some vines that were apparently strangling it."

" Was there actually a Druid?" Harry asked remembering the being that had given him the Yule Log.

" I don't know." Sev responded. " We spent another summer caring for the tree. But a storm, during the third summer,uprooted it. Your mother spent a long time crying over its loss." He reached over for a wooden box and pulled out an object.

He stared at it before handing over to Harry who found a rainbow coloured leaf. The boy held it.up and watched as it sparkled and glistened in the light.

" I still don't know if it was accidental Transfiguration or if she did it purposely. She had pulled a few of the tree's greenest leaves from its fallen form, and all of them became that. She gave me one, but kept the rest. I have no idea where they went." Harry continued to look at it, before handing back. Sev took it, twirling it around before returning it to his box.

That story set the tone for Harry's day. He found himself listening to any mentions of his parents, which were unfortunately very few, and even more about his Grandfather and Grandmother.

Phina told Harry how beautiful his Mom looked on her wedding day, while Jack told of how nervous his father had been, and how his Dad's friends had to keep Evernating him after he fainted.

Aunt Wilma and Aunt Selina enjoyed regaling stories of Fleamont and Dorea's misadventures. His Grandparents were apparently heavy travellers and Aunt Selina showed Harry her collection of souvenirs they had brought to her. She also recounted to him the floo call she had received from her brother when Dorea was confirmed pregnant.

" 'I have an Heir! So you don't have to worry about embarrassing an Ancient and Noble Family.'" She laughed fondly. " Then he had the audacity to ask Allister, Wilma and I to be his brat's Godparents." Tears gleamed in her eyes. " You're Dad was the ugliest baby I had ever seen, Harry. But the light in your Grandparents' eyes would have you thinking he was an angel. And to them, he really was." 

She looked far away and Aunt Wilma took over. She handed Harry a few pictures of his Dad as a baby. " He started running before he walked." She laughed. " That boy was far too much trouble. His first word was 'Silly' which is what he called your Aunt. Monty had threatened to disown him when it all but confirmed she was James' favourite." 

Harry had to spend a long time alone crying in his room afterwards. He felt pain at not having any stories of. His parents to share, instead having to hear about them for others.

His gift for the day from his Aunts were photos of his Dad growing up. He couldn't bring himself to eat with everyone that night, and found himself eating alone in his room, until Sev joined him. They said very little, but Harry was thankful when Sev allowed him to pull the album out and look through it with him. That night he put it in his hidden compartment along with the books and notes Sev had given him from his Mom's old things.

The final thing he saw before falling asleep was a large stone with Heating charms that Sev had given him for the terrarium.

  
  



	26. Chapter 26: Celebration, Silence, Work, and Announcements

The Sixth Day was a giant party, to put it simply. It started around dawn, when Harry, already awake, walked into the dining Hall, and was bombarded with loud music and laughter. Much of the adults were already awake, apparently, merrily dancing, and if Harry wasn’t mistaken drinking. He shuffled his way to the buffet table, disappointed in the selection as everything seemed too rich and sugary for breakfast. Thankfully he could cook for himself, and made his way around the maze of adults. In the Kitchens, and with the help of Bramble, who Harry was not questioning why she was there, the pair made a large amount of breakfast foods. Harry made sure to add fruit and other healthy options much to Bramble’s approval. He left much of the leftover food under a stasis charm on the table for anyone to pick from.

Harry spent much of that day with Daphne and Aiden once again as both of them disliked the noise of the crowds. As Heirs, Harry and Daphne did have to make several appearances though, with the pair alternating in the Blessings and Rites they had to bestow every second hour. They were incredibly repetitive and honestly Harry didn’t sense anything when they performed them.

For much of the day, many of the guests had separated into groups, and the party was broken up into several different locations. However, at High Noon, everyone had congregated into the Dining Hall, including the children. The food and drinks continued to fill the tables almost as fast as they were eaten and drunk. Everyone was truly merry, even Sev, Harry was happy to note. He was still sour faced, but at least he had a drink in his hand and was talking, begrudgingly, to Jack and Eugene. 

“ I hope everyone is enjoying themselves?” Aunt Selina asked, getting a loud cheer in response. “ Excellent. The Sixth Day is pure celebration, and from what I can see, we have more than excelled!” More cheers. “ Now as the sun reaches its zenith, Heir Greengrass will begin our Song.” Daphne nervously stood up, dipping her head to her Aunt. She began quietly, in a language Harry had no way to identify. To Harry it sounded quite eerie, but as more and more Greengrasses joined in, the melody became much more ethereal, and soon the Hall was filled with both its beautiful sound, and the heaviness of magic. 

This had been one of the events that Harry had researched the most. A House’s Song was unique and personal. To keep it that way, ancient magics were performed a long time ago to stop those who were not of a particular Family’s Blood from hearing it. It was why Harry was unable to understand what they were singing. Songs were important, and as Harry could feel, very powerful, which they boy found only more interesting as the magic around them felt like it was being called for a purpose, almost like a spell, but on a grander scale. 

The voices continued, getting louder, and Harry could have sworn there were more voices than people singing now. Magic floated freely around them, moving objects, brightening and dimming the torches around them, and Harry even saw a woman’s dresses turning a different colour. Soon though, as the voices quieted down, the magic settled as well, falling more on the Greengrass members than those who were not. What felt like forever, but was only minutes at most, Daphne’s voice rang out on her lonesome again, until she too fell silent. Almost immediately cheers broke out once again, and a blushing Daphne bowed to everyone and sat down. 

“Thank you my dear.” Aunt Selina kissed her cheeks. “ Now let us continue to enjoy ourselves yes?”

Soon everyone was back to talking and laughing, with quite a few of them dancing again. Aiden had grabbed Harry almost immediately and the pair soon went to a quieter room, Daphne and Astoria following.

“That was wonderful, Daphne!” Astoria exclaimed, grabbing her sister’s arm and jumping up and down. “ Can you teach me?”

“Yes, yes, now calm down.” Daphne laughed. “ As Heir and your sister it is my duty to teach you.” Laughing again as a pouting Astoria begged to know if those were the only reasons for teaching her.

Soon the sisters had left, as Astoria continued to demand lessons, as they would be Singing again for the evening Feast.

“Do you know the Potter Song?” Aiden asked almost out of nowhere. They were playing a game of Wizard’s chess, and Aiden was once again beating Harry. 

“Uh, no actually.” Harry had tried to find it in Granny Grimoire to no avail. “The Grimoire doesn’t have it, or at least I cannot access it yet.”

“Of course the Grimoire doesn’t have it.” A voice interrupted them. “ It’s an Oral Tradition. You only learn it from other Potters.” Bethany claimed, stealing the seat near her twin. “ Heir Potter hasn’t been taught it, Aiden. Daddy was planning to teach us all this summer.” She looked at Harry for just a moment. 

“Oh, I was kind of hoping you could have taught me.” Aiden turned his attention to Harry, smiling. “ A bit like Cousin Bonding you know?”

“ Oh.” Harry really didn’t have a good response. The two boys had spent quite a bit of time together, and Harry did consider Aiden to be a friend, did Aiden not? “ I thought we were doing okay?”

“We are.” Aiden agreed. “ But we are Family we could always be closer.” Soon the three of them focused on the game, with Bethany actually giving Harry hints, they were barbed but Harry did think it was an improvement.

*************************************************************************************************************

_ Earlier.... _

“Ms. Potter, if I could have a moment of your time?” Severus asked, not really asking.

“If she won’t, I will.” Juliet pulled herself closer to him, pushing the young Ms. Potter out of her way. “ Well Master Snape, perhaps I can help you?” Her smile was far too sharp for Severus.

“ Unfortunately not, Ms. Potter.” Severus turned away from her with some difficulty, as the insistent woman tried to block his view from the younger Potter girl. “ It pertains to your niece’s education and performance at Hogwarts.”

“I can think of a different performance for you to evaluate, Master Snape.” This time giving the man a wink. He barely suppressed a shiver.

“Ms. Potter, enough.” Severus put the full ‘angry dungeon bat’ tone into his voice, and almost laughed at how successful it was in curbing the young woman.

“Oh well, your loss.” She winked again, strutting away from the pair.

“Now then.” Severus turned his attention back to the young Ms. Potter, silently laughing as he realized his tone had also stopped her. “ If you would follow me.” He led her to a study nearby. She was clearly shocked as she entered and spotted her parents along with the Greengrass matron and her wife sitting around a table. “ If you would have a seat.” He took his own between the two other couples, Mrs. Potter on his right, and Lady Greengrass to his left. “ We wished to discuss your treatment of Harry.”

“What are you talking about! I backed off like you told me too!” The girl was already on the defensive, clearly thrown off guard from being surprised by her family. 

“You haven’t reached out to him though.” Matron Greengrass began. “ Why?”

“Why should I?” 

“He is the Family Heir.” 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ms. Potter demanded. “ I have to be nice to him or what? He’ll disown me when he becomes Lord? So he deserves special treatment?”

“ It means Beth, that the boy is your Family.” Mrs. Potter started as she put a hand on her husband’s arm to stop him from speaking. “ It is the fact that you have never been like this with anyone before. You’ve met countless Cousins and other members of the Family and even if you don’t welcome them with open arms, you have never been this hostile. Why is this different?”

“ Hostile?” Ms. Potter demanded. “ How have I been hostile?”

“I believe that is where I come in.” Severus spoke. “ First, we have several Detentions from several different Professors, between Heir Malfoy.”- Severus caught the small flinch from Minister Potter and his wife.- “ For causing fights in the halls. Not to mention the man times I have witnessed you attempting to sabotage Harry’s potions in my class.”

“I haven’t got into a fight with Heir Potter since Samhain!” Ms. Potter yelled in her defense.

“No, but you have turned your attention toward his friends, Heir Longbottom in particular.” Severus responded, rather surprised when the girl’s cheeks turned rosy and she didn’t argue back.

“ Beth, sweetie. Why is this so difficult for you?” Lady Greengrass asked. Severus barely made eye contact with the girl, but he managed to get a single image from her head. Why was she thinking of her Aunt Juliet? 

“I just.” She stumbled over her words. “ I just, he has everything! The Fortune and the Power of the Potter Family? Why him? He was raised by Muggles. He will never respect our honour House Potter as someone who grew up surrounded by it! He’ll take advantage of it and belittle everything our Family has done!”

Severus couldn’t help glancing at the girl’s family, not even having to read their thoughts to see how plainly they did not agree. He couldn’t help wondering where this girl was getting her ideas from. The image of Juliet Potter popped back into his head, and Severus decided that would be worth investigating at a later date. His thoughts had kept him from paying attention though, and he missed what he could only infer from the last statement, arguments against what she claimed.

“- Honestly, after everything we have seen, that’s just plan idiotic to believe.” Matron Greengrass told the girl. “ Harry has done nothing but embrace everything we have done here. And your father has letters between himself and Harry confirming that Harry is more than ready to uphold the mantle of Lord Potter when the time comes.”

Ms. Potter sat there brooding under the stare of the adults. The adults continued to mutter amongst themselves as she started to squirm in her seat.

“ We need you to change your attitude Beth.” Minister Potter finally spoke. “ No more antagonizing Harry or his friends. Not because he’s the Heir to your House, but because he is family and Blood. I don’t expect you two to start frolicking in the fields singing and dancing. But I do want you to at least be benign to him.” He gave her a stern look as she meant to speak over him. “ If you can’t even do that, well your mother and I have agreed that you will spend the summer holidays grounded. No trips to Paris, no visiting friends, and no parties.”

The girl knew enough not to argue. However she was clearly not ready to just give in. “ Are we done here?”

“ Yes, I think so.” Minister Potter stood shaking his head in dismay.

“Ms. Potter, just one more thing.” Severus interrupted her escape. “ That boy who you claim has everything because he is the Heir, just remember he is going without something that he would no doubt trade the Title for in a heartbeat.”

She stared back at him, apparently waiting for him to finish. “ Well what is it?”

“Parents, Ms. Potter. That boy is an orphan.” Severus stated straight-faced. “ You may go now.”

*************************************************************************************************************

  
  


The Evening Feast was started with the Family Song, and Harry couldn’t help but smile as Astoria stumbled along with everyone else. He also noticed that the magic that filled the room seemed to gravitate towards the girl, as her plate and silverware did a dance before her and her chair rose up with her in it. 

Eventually everyone was back to dancing and drinking, while Harry sat off in the corner with Sev and Georgia, who had a glass of water in her hands. Sev had had a glass of what he called fire whiskey, and when Harry asked for a sip, was put off by the glare the man usually saves for errant Gryffindors. 

“Why don’t you ask Mrs. Greengrass for a sip of her champagne.” Sev responded sarcastically. 

“She’s drinking water Sev.” Harry responded cheekily. “ I think you’ve had too much to drink if you didn’t notice that.” The Potion’s master merely raised an eyebrow at him, before turning his attention to the drink that Georgia held. 

“Congratulations.” He informed the woman, earning a jump of surprise from her.

“ Oh ahh, thank you.” She responded a bit flushed. “ Could you just…” She trailed off.

“ Of course. It is not my place.” Sev responded. He received a quiet thanks from her and Harry looked between the two, trying to figure out what had happened. 

“Why did you congratulate her?” Harry whispered, giving up on figuring it out for himself.

“As I told her, it is not my place to tell anyone, including you, you brat.” Sev responded with a smirk. “ They will tell you when they are ready.”

Harry was no longer willing to let it go, the man’s smirk instantly burning Harry’s want to give up. Instead he turned it into one of the games he and Sev would do, when Sev wanted him to figure something out. He turned to look at Georgia, who was currently laughing at her husband who was dancing with both their daughters, Astoria apparently demanding to only be spun, while Daphne kept demanding her own spins. He really couldn’t see anything special about her that would be worth congratulating her. 

Instead he turned towards the room, his eyes following Eugene and his daughters. But after that also proved futile, he looked around again. It took quite some time, and in the end Harry did almost give u until his eyes settled on a woman almost directly on the other side of the room. He hadn’t noticed her at first because of the crowd, but now that much of the dancing parties had moved away he could clearly see her. The first thing he noticed about her had a glass of water. Then he saw her stomach, and he immediately realized she was pregnant. He couldn’t help but look now as he saw she was huge.

Almost without his permission, his magic seemed to focus on her belly, and Harry found he was able to sense the baby’s magic inside. With a little more effort, Harry realized he could sense four different magical signatures, realizing immediately that one was the mother. The shock of what his magic was telling him, pulled him out of whatever trance he was in. 

Without much thought he turned back to Georgia, and his magic focused on her too. He soon felt the a magical core that was not Georgia’s coming from her belly, actually no it wasn’t one magical core.

“ Sev, why are multiple babies so common in the Magical World?” 

“What do you mean?”

“ Well, including my Cousins, there are three sets of Twins in my Year, and I know of at least two in the Second Years? Not to mention the Weasley twins, or the Slytherin Fifth Year Triplets?”

“Ah, I hadn’t put much thought into it.” Sev replied. “What made you ask?”

“Well the woman over there is having Triplets.” Harry responded, pointing out the pregnant woman he was watching before. He almost continued, but Georgia suddenly choked while taking a sip. After confirming she was okay Harry turned back to the Potions’ Master. He quieted his voice to just above a whisper. “ Also I know why you were congratulating Georgia now. She’s having Twins!” Harry finished with a smile, proud of himself for figuring it out. Sev started to say something, but was interrupted as Georgia dropped her glass, and it shattered everywhere. The man quickly pulled out his wand and Repaired it before someone could get hurt.

Georgia thanked the man before turning to ask Harry. “Harry, what do you mean by Twins?”

“Well I wanted to know why Sev congratulated you, and he didn’t want to be rude by telling me so I had to figure it out myself.” Harry started, Georgia urged him to continue. “ and well my magic let me sense that that woman over there was having Triplets and after realizing I could sense the babies, I turned it on you and I can sense the pair. They have almost the same colour magic, but one has a slightly paler purple one. Congrats by the way, and um sorry I invaded your privacy.” He added at the end, realizing it was probably very rude of him to have done it.

It took a moment for Georgia to process what he said, but after a moment she spoke. “Margaret’s having triplets.” Harry nodded. “ I’m having Twins?” Again he nodded. She took a moment to herself before standing up. “ Excuse me a moment gentlemen.” She walked briskly to the other woman, whispering something in her ear, and soon both were looking at Harry. Georgia then left the other woman, and soon dragged her husband off the dance floor and out of the Hall.

“What was that about?”

“I think,” Sev seemed just as bewildered. “ You gave her news that she was very much unaware of.” He gave Harry such a look that made Harry think he was confused more about what Harry did and not over the fact that Georgia had run off. “Were you really able to sense the cores of both her babies?”

“ Yes.” He responded. “ Something just clicked when I was looking at the pregnant woman over there.” He went to point but noticed that her and her husband had also vanished. “ Oh, she’s gone now too.”

“Your magical sensitivity is getting stronger, Harry.” Sev thought out loud, having put his drink down and focusing solely on him. “The Matron and Lady Greengrass already suspect something, and this will only add fuel to it.”

Harry pouted. He really didn’t want to think about them. He was still upset about how they treated him just before Sev arrived. “ i don’t see why it’s any of their business.”

He watched as Sev went to respond several times, before apparently thinking against it. Instead he took his glass once more. “Just know that this is not something that will go away if you ignore it.”

Soon Harry became too tired, and he made his way to his rooms, wishing Sev a good night. Thankfully the rooms had Silencing charms and the loud sounds from the party disappeared as soon as he shut his door.

*************************************************************************************************************

The silence actually continued well into the next day as the Seventh Day was the Day of Silence. No one spoke, and everyone moved as quietly as possible. It wasn’t meant to be a day without communication as everyone seemed to carry a notepad of sorts and were regularly giving each other notes. Sev claimed it was meant for the day after heavy drinking, well before hangover potions were invented, and so to help with the migraines associated with drinking.

Whatever the reason, the children had turned being quiet into a game. They all tried to do different tasks that got noisier and noisier as they got farther into the game. Harry got the win, when he completed the final task after everyone had failed. Some would call it cheating, but Harry called it a sound win as he used his magic to silence not just himself but also his steps as he ran on the graveled path, and then cannonballing into the pond in the back garden. Harry was more happy that the pond was magically heated then he was to win though.

The Silence ended when Aunt Selina rang a loud bell. Almost immediately, voices rang out as well, and Harry found himself almost missing the silence.

The Eighth Day was basically, in Harry’s opinion, a normal day. It was called the Day of Tasks, meaning it was the day for everyone to do the work that they had missed or put off during the Celebrations. Jack was constantly dealing with owls, and had locked himself up in a nearby study. The children all went into the Library and worked on their school work, including the younger one who had homework from their tutors. Harry was thankful that he had spent much of the time at Potter Manor doing his work, as he spent much of the day revising. He did help Aiden and Daphne and even Bethany when she asked (begged).

*************************************************************************************************************

The Ninth and Tenth Days was meant for Announcements. Announcements to the Family were an entirely different monster than anything else. Announcements ranged from Engagements to Wedding dates, from Promotions at work to quitting one's job, and so on. If it was a major event, it needed to be Announced to the Family. Thankfully Announcements could be made at any time, but many waited for the Yule.

The first of the two days were meant for more mundane things, such as jobs or grades. Quite a few people Announced promotions, with two of Daphne's older Cousins Announcing their competition in the Apprenticeships. Soon, along with Daphne and Bethany, Harry Announced their high rankings at Hogwarts. The Feast that night put all of the other meals to shame, and Harry found himself eating far too much.

The second day was much grander. Seven Wedding Dates and four Engagements were Announced, with each couple asking for the Family Blessing, to which both Aunt Selina and Daphne granted each time. An elderly Woman formally Announced the death of her husband who had died in September. The Announcement sobered up the guests, and when the following Announcement was about a Witch divorcing her wife and asking for permission, the Hall was quiet enough to rival the Seventh Day. 

Soon enough the mood turned bright again as the Pregnancy Announcements began. Several happy couples Announced their upcoming children, listing stats about their future child that Harry had no idea what to do with. One couple formally introduced their adopted daughter, to a surprisingly loud applause. Eventually the Announcements slowed down until a woman, that Harry realized with Margaret and her husband stood in front of everyone.

“Well everyone, as most of you can tell, I am pregnant.” Laughter and cheers came in response “And while we did Announce my pregnancy during the Summer Festivals, something was brought to our attention a few days ago, and we only now just received confirmation from a Healer.” Margaret paused, as many in the crowd whispered amongst themselves. Aunt Selina learned forward in her chair. “Not to worry. Everything is fine. All three of our boys are entirely healthy.” It clearly took a moment for her words to make sense to everyone, but almost as one it hit everyone who began to let out yells of congratulations. “ That’s right! We are not having Twins, but Triplets.” They walked off to loud applause, and Harry could help but notice his Aunts were both looking at him. Soon enough, Eugene and Georgia took the stage.

“We are also Announcing a pregnancy.” Eugene began. “ And after confirming with a Healer, Georgia and I are welcoming Twin girls!” The applause was actually loud enough for Harry’s head to hurt. Thankfully it quieted down and the couple left. Harry however could not missed the look that they gave him as they walked away and Harry couldn’t help but think about Sev’s warning.


	27. Chapter 27: Family Matters

Chapter 27:

  
  


The Eleven Day began with breakfast in Sev’s room. It also began much too early for Sev’s liking. But after Harry had realized he would be leaving for the day, Harry demanded they have breakfast together. He knew it was selfish, and kind of pathetic in his opinion, but Harry was going to miss the Potion’s Master, even if it was only for a day. They had already shared gifts, with Harry giving the man a clock pin in the shape of a falcon. Slytherins were much too invested in the symbol of snakes and Harry thought a falcon fit Sev much more.

Harry had amassed all his gifts in the corner of Sev’s room, as the man offered to store them in his mostly empty chest. His gifts included; the terrarium, a hollowed branch, his mother’s copy of  Snakes are Necessary, hollowed stone with an Endless Water Charm, fine sand for the terrariums floors, several jars with Expanding Charms on them for ingredients, a rune covered metal dome that was apparently the Wizarding version of a heat lamp, a voucher for  _ Magical Menagerie,  _ another hallowed stone that was shaped like a small cave, it was charmed with Wizard’s Space to make it bigger on the inside, and a container with freezing runes on it to keep food from spoiling. The eleventh gift that he just opened was another book this time called  What Not to Do When Bitten.  While clearly it was meant to be a serious book, Harry couldn’t help but laugh as the cover was a poorly drawn man being bitten by a snake, a dog, and a bear. 

“ Sev, I know the final gift is a snake! Why can’t you just give them to me now?” Harry begged. He had figured it out ages ago and was getting more and more excited. He hadn’t told Saffron yet, but he was almost certain she knew as well as she glared daggers at Sev a few days ago. 

“It may very well be a snake, however it could also be a gecko.” 

Harry couldn’t help but blanch at that. He fretted a bit before remembering that his mom’s book was about serpents, and told Sev so. 

“Perhaps it was a red herring gift.” 

At this point Harry refused to enable the man any longer, and changed the subject. “When will you be back?”

“Sometime tomorrow morning. Draco would throw a fit otherwise.” Sev responded. The Eleventh Day was the day when Witches and Wizards were invited to spend time elsewhere, usually with Family or friends who they were unable to Celebrate all of Yule with. Sev and Harry had had a long discussion about how Sev always spent Yule with the Malfoys as he was close friends with Lord and Lady as well as being the Godfather to Heir Malfoy. Harry couldn’t help the little bit of jealousy that burned in his chest, but he tried to swallow it down and did not beg Sev to stay.

The pair sat in silence, with Harry drinking a mug of hot chocolate a House Elf named Demo gave him, until an alarm went off and Sev made his way to the fireplace. Aunt Selina had de-warded Sev’s floo connection, but only for a single person departure. Clearly she didn’t trust the man and it only made Harry more annoyed with the elderly woman. Sev gave Harry a tight hug along with a warning to be good, before he left. Harry stayed there only a moment longer before returning to his rooms. His mom’s book was riddled with notations in her hand writing and Harry couldn’t help but read all of them, wondering just how long she had the book before gifting it to Sev.

All too soon Harry was asked by Demo on behalf of his Aunts to make his way to the Hall for food. Even though he wasn’t hungry, having eaten with Sev only a few hours before, he still made his way there. There were quite a few new people in the Hall, and much of them were gawking at him, or more specifically his scar. Thankfully none of them actually came up to him, because Harry had no idea what he would do. 

Unfortunately, Jack and his family had returned to the French Ministry for the French Yule Ball. He had extended an invite to Harry, and no matter how much Harry wished to go, he didn’t want to push the Headmaster anymore than he had at the moment. There was no way that his appearance at the French Yule Ball would go unnoticed and Harry was already nervous over the Headmaster’s reaction if he found out he was not a Number 4. 

He believed the man was unaware of his location as Harry used Dingly to get to Potter Manor as well as a French authorized Portkey. Jack had explained to Harry, that while Headmaster Dumbledore was held as the next coming of Merlin in Great Britain, much of the rest of the Magical World, especially the French part, disliked the man. He had promised that not one would leak the information out and Harry could only hope he was right.

Daphne and her family were also away for the day, visiting a Family Ally representing Aunt Selina and Aunt Wilma who remained at Fairhaven Manor to continue to host their guests. Harry found himself sitting with them now at the main table. He ate a bit of fruit and yogurt, as guests came up to their table introducing themselves to him as well as thanking his Aunts for hosting them. Not soon enough people stopped coming up to them and Harry was able to enjoy his small meal. 

After breakfast, Harry went back to his rooms and after a nice bath, took out his mom’s book again. He had already read the actual book at least once, but now he spent the time to read all of her notes. She seemed to spend just as much time mocking the author as well as leaving simple jokes or questions for Sev to answer. Harry wondered if the man had ever responded.

“Master Harry, Sir.” Demo appeared suddenly. Thankfully, Harry’s magical sensitivity also gave him warning of when a House Elf was about to pop in, because Harry knew he wouldn’t have reacted well to the surprise. “ Mistresses wishes to sees you.” The Elf dipped his head and popped away as Harry thanked him. He sighed as he realized they had waited until Sev was gone to confront him again. 

He did think about not going, but he thought it was better to get it over with. He made his way down the private hallways before knocking gently on the door.

“Come in Harry.” Aunt Selina’s voice called out, slightly muffled by the thickness of the door. The two women sat comfortably on the loveseat that was near a roaring fire. Harry was actually rather relieved they had not decided to put the desk between them and himself. It made him feel less like he was in trouble.

“Sit here Sweetie.” Aunt Wilma patted the nearby chair. She offered him a drink as he did, and Demo appeared with a mug of hot chocolate and whipped cream. The kindly woman attempted small talk with Harry, but soon stopped as Harry mostly gave one worded responses or nonverbal ones.

“Harry, I know you are mad at us, but neither of us can figure out why.” She decided to just get to the point. Harry realized he was spending far too much time with Sev when he figured out he actually felt better after she got to the point. 

“I’m not mad at you.” Harry denied. The sea of emotions he felt for the couple were still very much confusing to him. Upset with how they were treating Sev? Yes. Sad that he apparently wasn’t family enough to them because he wasn’t a Greengrass? Yes? But angry? Not really. 

“ Harry, you’ve been ignoring myself and Selina for much of the time you’ve been here.” Aunt Wilma claimed. “ The first few days you seemed to be opening up to us. But then suddenly all that stopped.”

“ We checked with Jack, and it was only us.” Aunt Selina muttered. “ You haven’t treated anyone else like us! Even Eugene and Georgia.”

“ Selina please.” Aunt Wilma stopped her from continuing what Harry was sure would be a rant. “ Harry, we just want to know what we did?”

Harry was rather annoyed that they were talking about him to others, but he found it more annoying that they didn’t understand what they did wrong. The worst bit is they didn’t actually do wrong. It was Harry who was wrong. He wasn’t what they had wanted him to be. A sharp cracking sound made Harry jump. The trio all turned their attention to a vase, or rather what was left of the vase.

“I knew you had put a focusing charm on it!” Aunt Selina exclaimed, startling Harry.

“I have no idea what you mean.” Aunt Wilma smirked, waving her wand to repair the vase. She gave Harry an explanation when she saw his questioning look. “ Potters are known to lash out with their magic when they are emotional. This vase is Selina’s favourite thing to destroy.”

Harry took a moment to think about what she said. Maybe he was angry?

“Harry, we want to correct what went wrong. Please don’t push us away.” Aunt Selina pleaded. “ We are family.”

“Not family enough.” Harry muttered quietly.

“What do you mean by that?” Aunt Selina demanded, apparently taking it as an insult. Harry was rather stunned at the anger in her voice, and he couldn’t help lashing back.

“I mean that YOU were the one who tested my Blood to see if I was somehow a Greengrass. YOU were the ones that were disappointed when the test came back negative!” Harry spat at them, his anger starting to bubble out, shattering the vase again, as well as the table it was on and cracking the wall behind it. “ YOU were the ones that invited me here but all you do is talk about me to others! YOU reached out and I thought I could have a family that wasn’t disappointed in me for something I could change about myself!” The crack on the wall expanded, reaching up to the ceiling. 

“Harry, drink this.” Aunt Wilma had thrust a bottle into his face. He very nearly threw it back at them, but managed to temper himself enough to realize it was a Calming Draught. It immediately took affect and Harry found himself far too numb to handle anything. He found himself staring off into the flames as his Aunts quietly talked between themselves. Soon enough the Calming Draught put him into a fitful sleep.

  
  


Merlin knows how long he slept, but he woke up eventually, groggily and with a poor taste in his mouth. A glass of water was handed to him and he happily drank it. Putting the glass down had Harry noticing he was now under a blanket. Shifting a little he turned to see that his Aunts were still there, with Aunt Wilma looking at him in worry, and Aunt Selina looking up at the painting above the mantle. Harry followed her gaze, and saw a kind looking man smiling down at him. Harry waved and watched as the man waved back, before passing a smirk at the two older women. He made a few signals with his hands, and was surprised at the chuckle that escaped from Aunt Selina.

“ Yes he is the spitting image of Monty.” She spoke to the painting. Turning to Harry she explained. “ That’s our Alister. He lost his hearing when he was a teenager and a potions experiment went wrong.” The man, Alister made several fast signs, glaring at her. “ Sorry, apparently that sounds like it was his fault. It wasn’t.” She paused at the confused look on Harry’s face. “ He can read lips. Magic isn’t a cure all Harry, I’m sure you’ve learned that. Alister lost his hearing but he never lost his joy.”

Aunt Wilma pulled herself closer to the other woman. Alister made a few more signs at the pair before glancing at Harry, and signing rapidly again. 

“What is he saying?” 

“He’s telling us that we clearly need to talk, and making a joke that it’s coming from a man who cannot physically talk.” Aunt Wilma explained. She turned to her wife who only sighed before nodding.

“Alister and Wilma married when we were all seventeen. I was her Maid of Honour.” She smiled sadly. “ I was too busy being the Heir to the Potters. Monty had taken up the mantle of Lord, and hadn’t had have James yet, and wouldn’t for another ten years, that old fool.”

“What does that have to do with their marriage? I thought you two were married?” Harry interrupted.

“Everything and nothing Harry. And we are.” Aunt Selina gave him a sad smile. “ As the Heir I was expected to marry for an Alliance. You have to realize back then we were between wars, with one just starting up. Of course I refused, and my father prattled on about how if he was still Lord he’d have disowned me. Monty knew me though. He would never make me leave these two.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

“Well your father was finally born, and I was released from the Heirship and immediately Apparated into Alister and Wilma’s living room demanding they marry me. No notice, no rings. Just myself and Monty’s blessing. Six months later we Bonded as a Triad.” Harry had spent much of his time reading about Wizarding Traditions, and knew that Triads were fairly common. It still surprised him and he wasn’t sure how to feel, but he continued to listen. “Four months later I had Eugene. For just over twenty odd years, we loved together and raised our son. In those twenty years, Alister’s mother died, and I found myself becoming the Matron of House Greengrass. Dorea never let me get over the fact that I escaped the Potter Heirship only to pick up another annoying title.” She was silenced by a playful smack from her wife and a joking glare from her husband’s painting.

“ You love it, don’t lie.”

“I will never admit it.” She playfully replied before continuing. “ The Greengrasses are a Matriarchal Family and the Family Magic won’t allow a Male Head of House. So it chose me since I was of a higher status than Wilma here.”

“Higher in some ways.” Aunt Wilma muttered.

“ Anyways, Harry.” She looked him directly in the eyes. “ I would like to say that with the war against You-Know-Who that the Greengrass Family sided with the Light. We did not. We tried our hardest to remain Neutral.” She looked up at her husband. “ Alister wanted us to fight against him, but I was too afraid.” Aunt Wilma pulled her into a hug and whispered something into her ear that Harry couldn’t hear. “ It was only after we received word that He was going after you and your parents, that I finally pulled us into the fight. I almost wish I hadn’t.”

“It wasn’t you fault Lina.” Aunt Wilma looked at Alister, who was furiously signing away. “ See, even he agrees!”

“You can say it as much as you’d like, but I’ll always feel like this.” Aunt Selina denied. She turned back to Harry. “ Three days before your parents died, and You-Know-Who was vanquished, Alister met up with Jack’s parents, my younger brother and sister in law, to devise a plan to help smuggle you and your parents out of the country and to France.” Her voice cracked and Harry felt a sudden pain in his chest. “ Death Eaters stormed the Inn they were meeting at and killed everyone in it. In less than twenty minutes we lost our husband, and I lost a brother.” 

Tears flowed out of her eyes, and Harry fought to keep his clear. Alister was now signing frantically, and Aunt Wilma was rubbing circles in her wife’s back, continuing to whisper small comforts. It took a while for his Aunt to calm down, having refused a Draught, claiming she’d pass out just like Harry. Eventually she found her voice.

“Three days later, while the entire Island cheered and celebrated, we mourned.” She began. “It took nearly a week before we questioned what had happened to you. We reached out to the Ministry and to Dumbledore, only to be told that everything had been handled and you were where you belong.” Her sadness burned away into pure rage. “ We argued and filed for custody papers, calling forth a full Wizengamot only to be turned away multiple times. Dumbledore, that bloody meddling, cowardly fool, had too much power, he still does, and convinced much of the Light that you would be better off raised by your Muggle relatives!” 

“The Greengrass Family is part of the Neutral Fraction in the Wizengamot.” Aunt Wilma explained, giving Aunt Selina a moment to collect herself. “ At the time, we didn’t have nearly enough pull amongst the other members, and when both the Light and the Dark side voted in favour of Dumbledore, well there wasn’t much we could do.” 

“I know why those gutless Light members followed that manipulator, but I’ve never understood how the Dark Fraction went with him!” Aunt Selina frowned.

“I think.” Harry paused before she motioned for him to continue. “ It was a good move on their part. Even if they didn’t openly support Vold- You-Know-Who, it wouldn’t hurt for them to be in the Headmaster’s favour.” Harry paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “ And maybe it was a good trade off. The Boy Who Lived, forced to live and grow up with Muggles. Sure they run the risk of my growing up and loving Muggles, but not growing up with magic would hinder me in the long run.”

Both of his Aunt’s and his Uncle he supposed, stared open mouth at him, before Alister signed something. “ No he’s not a Slytherin.” Aunt Wilma responded laughing. 

“ Anyways. It didn’t stop us. We have tried to fight for your custody nearly every year.” Aunt Selina continued. “ Every time Dumbledore stopped us. We weren't disappointed that you were not a Greengrass because it meant you were family, you are Family, it was because, if we could connect you more tightly to our family we could win the custody battle.” She paused to look at her wife who nodded before continuing again. “ Harry, we know that you invoked the Heir’s Protection.” Harry’s back stiffened. “ We have no idea why you did, but we can only assume it’s because of the muggles.” Again the women shared a look. “ I wanted to bring it up to the Wizengamot, but Wilma argued against it.”

Harry couldn’t help the shudder of relief that went through his body.

“Harry we could use this.” She tried only for him to stop her.

“No. The Protection is doing its job.” Harry claimed. “ If we tried, the Headmaster would just sweep it under the rug. You’re right that he’s still too powerful. All that would come out is that everyone would know and I’d still be there.” He shivered at the thought.

They sat in silence for a while before he spoke up. “ You really fought for me?”

“ With everything we had.” Aunt Selina exclaimed.

“ As much as we could.” Aunt Wilma responded at the same time. Maybe it was all the emotions flying around, or maybe it was because that’s all Harry really wanted to hear, but he soon found himself wrapped into a tight hug with his Aunts. 

*************************************************************************************************************

They spoke about everything and nothing for the rest of the day. His Aunts telling him all about his dad growing up, and Harry telling them about how he tried a bunch of wards from a ‘Selina’ to protect his things in the Dorm since there wasn’t actually a password to the Common Room and anyone could just walk in. 

Harry was not prepared to learn that the ‘Selina’ from the Grimoire was actually her, and he spent far too long fanboying. They continued to talk animatedly together before they were called for dinner. After which they made their way to Harry’s lounge and spoke some more.

Eventually Harry grew too tired, and his Aunts bid him a good night. But before they left Harry made sure to speak about one more thing.

“ I don’t know what you have against Sev.” Harry started. “ I think it’s because the Headmaster uses him, but I want you to know, he cares for me. He’s cared for me for a while now.” He found himself closing his eyes. If he wasn’t so tired he probably wouldn’t have admitted the next statement to them. “I love him as much as I think I would mom or dad.” He soon fell asleep, not at all aware of the surprised look his announcement caused.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates: Yay.
> 
> 1) Finally got a charger, so no more typing chapters on my phone.
> 
> 2) Finished writing the Epilogue, but not anything between then and now... Idk the Epilogue just came to me. The rest is outlined though.
> 
> 3) I plan to take the first two weeks of March off from writing as I am taking a vacation from work then as well. I want to be done with the Segment of the story by then.
> 
> 4) As such, I plan to have two chapters posted a week from now to the end of February. So that's about nine chapters more, not including this one. Hopefully that plenty. If I follow my outline I'll only need like six? I'm hoping to not leave the story hanging for two weeks.


	28. Chapter 28: the Malfoys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had meant to be an extra little excerpt for the 'What Could Be" segment but then I really went into it, and realized it needed to be a true chapter. Enjoy the Malfoys.

Severus had relinquished his grip on one boy, only to find his arms full of another, albeit a blonde one, as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace. The man found himself pulling his godson into a tight hug, feeling instantly when the boy stiffened in surprise. He found himself grimacing, not exactly proud he would elicit such a reaction from his Godson. His point was proven further as Draco pulled away with an odd look before he asked.

“What did I want to be when I was five?” The question hurt the Potion’s Master but also filled him with a bit of pride towards his Godson for having the forethought to notice a difference in a person and immediately demand proof of who they were.

“ An equestrian.” His mouth turning upward into a smirk, remembering the countless attempts Draco had made to live in the stable with his favourite horse, Bolt. Clearly it crossed Draco’s mind as his face turned a brilliant pink. 

He was quickly pulled into another hug and Severus made sure to reciprocate it. He may not be an overly affectionate man, but he would make an exception for his Godson, like he did for Harry. 

“Mama told me you’d be here by lunch. But I knew you’d be here early.” Draco’s grin at being found correct brightened the entire room. He made sure the man was following him out of the room before he continued. “ Father locked the Family Wing off, and left Aunt Priscilla to Host those who stayed.” He rambled on about all of the ‘important guests’ from the Ministry that had accepted his Father’s invitation. “ The Head Auror and his wife were planning to visit today. Father had plans to speak with the man, however Mama made sure to remind him that we were spending the day with Family.”

Severus nodded along, having already read a letter from Lucius, who was most admittedly NOT pouting about how his wife would not let him talk to Scrimgeour. He knew the blonde man was concerned about rumours of more Raids on properties of known or presumed known Death Eaters, and he only wished to get ahead of it. And while Severus felt sympathy for his plight, he was also smart enough to not aid Lucius in his attempt to go behind his wife’s back. Narcissa was a force not to be reckoned with.

Severus frowned to himself as he found himself lost in his own musings, neglecting to listen to his Godson speak. Thankfully the blonde boy was continuing his list of ‘important guests’ and had not noticed his lack of attention. 

“Mama was going to have a House Elf greet you, but I didn’t want to bother them.” Draco explained why he was waiting for him. “ Marble has been working too hard feeding everyone.” Draco began discussing each and every meal the Malfoy House Elves made, and Severus’ stomach turned at the idea of food so soon after the large breakfast he had. Thankfully Draco quieted down as they passed the doors into his parents suite. 

“Pa- I mean, Father’s still asleep. He probably won’t be up for a while.” Severus just smirked in response. Lucius Malfoy was a lot of things; Father, Husband, Politician, as well as ambitious, cunning and intelligent, he was not, however, a morning person. They made their way into Sev’s private quarters, having been given rooms by Lucius a long time ago.

Severus settled into the comfiest chair he had ever used, secretly wishing it would follow him everywhere, so as to allow him to avoid any and all inferior chairs. Draco and claimed the loveseat nearby, lying under a fluffy grey blanket. Draco called Marble, who happily greeted Severus, before taking Draco’s order for coffee and hot chocolate.

The man secretly enjoyed watching his Godson squirm under the silence. He was altogether rather impressed that he hadn’t broken down and demanded his present yet. Not a moment after that thought came about, Draco let out a groan.

“Can I  _ please  _ have my present now?” Emphasizing the please to cater to the Potion’s master preference for politeness.

“Nearly twenty minutes.” Severus mused, he called out to Ebony, his personal House Elf, who brought in a decent sized box and carefully placed it on the floor. Severus always made a point to gift Draco rather generic presents- potion supplies, candies and books- during the Yule Celebrations , and leaving the more personal gift for the very end. He had already delivered the Eleventh Day’s gift the night before, and Draco had clearly enjoyed the Belgian chocolates, as he was far too hyper for the early hour. He would normally have waited to send the last present the next day, however he wanted to see Draco’s reaction.

Draco practically fell to his knees, ignoring the knowing smirk from his Godfather. Severus couldn’t help the slight turning in his stomach as he watched his Godson carefully lift the lid, and only getting worse as Draco stared at the revealed prize.

“Uncle Sev.” Draco whispered as his hands sunk into the box, slowly lifting a pure white kneazle kitten. The little ball of fluff let out an annoyed mew, before nuzzling its face into the crook of Draco’s neck.

  
  


*************************************************************************************************************

It had been a fluke in all honesty. Severus had been in the pet shop looking for a proper snake for Harry, when the white fluff ball had let out the loudest mew possible for so little a thing. The shop owner had claimed the kneazle was nearly six months old and far too small and far too picky for their own good. No one had wanted to buy them, and the shop owner was at her wits end. She had admitted that they were returned twice now. Severus had almost left without purchasing the thing, however was stopped suddenly as he felt snap claws digging into his leg. Glancing down, he saw the horrible beast was in fact climbing up his leg. 

Apparently when a kneazle chooses you, you keep it, and the shop owner refused to let Severus leave without the little fiend. When Severus had demanded what he was to do with it, the owner merely laughed. The trek home had been quite bothersome as the kneazle refused to even entertain the idea of being placed within the carrying case he had purchased, and instead laid on the Potion’s Master’s shoulder, with their tail flicking back and forth.

It was when he was back in Spinner End, that the kneazle finally jumped off him, zooming around his house, clearly searching for something. Eventually it found its way back in front of Severus, and mewed at him, rather demandingly. Severus had no idea what the fluff ball wanted, and refused to speak to the thing. As he was about to pick them up however the kneazle bolted, turning some few feet away and mewed again before running off again.

  
  


Letting out a great sigh, Severus followed the blasted creature, regretting every single life choice he made leading up to this moment. Finally they reached their destination, and Severus could only look on with confusion as they were stopped at the door that led to his Godson’s room when he stayed over. Opening the door led the kneazle to running in, and climbing up the bed where they made themselves comfortable and fell asleep.

“The blasted kneazle didn’t bond with me. It just used me to get to my Godson!” He shook his head. Actually the idea was not a bad one as he had struggled on what to get his Godson for Yule, and what better gift than an annoying creature very much like his Godson?

*************************************************************************************************************

“She’s wonderful.” Draco continued to pet the thing, enticing purrs from the little monster. 

“I am glad you like her. It will make it easier to convince your parents to let you keep her.” Severus smirked at the boy.

“Let Draco keep whom?” A voice smoothie asked from the entryway.

“ Ah Narcissa.” Severus rose up, kissing the woman’s cheek. “ Many Yuletide Blessings. I was just introducing my Godson to his new friend.”

“Severus Tobias Snape. You did not purchase a kneazle for my son!” A smile played on the beautiful woman’s face.”

“I would never.” He replied. “ I was basically held hostage by the store owner, and had I not purchased the furball-”

“Mirach.” Draco claimed. “ Her name is Mirach.”

Severus went to continue, but paused at the look on the woman’s face. “ Are you well Narcissa?”

“I am fine.” She shook her head slightly, giving him a tender smile. “ Only a strange thought.”

Soon the older pair made small talk, drinking coffee and watching as Draco tried to teach Mirach tricks, only to fail as the kneazle remained unamused.

“Mama, when will Pa- Father be awake?”

“ He is awake now.” Lucius proclaimed, his robe swaying around him as he made a grand entrance. “ Why is there a moving ball of fur on your floor, Severus?”

“She’s called Mirach, Father. Uncle Sev got her for me.” He picked up Mirach, much to her surprise, and Lucius was very nearly scratched as she thrashed about.

“ I see.” The man turned to glare at his old friend, who had the audacity to smirk.

“ Merry Yule Lucius.” he responded. “ Not even lunch time. A new record?”

“Severus, we were discussing the purchasing of a kneazle from my son, not my being awake at this ungodly hour.” Lucius claimed his mug from Marble, thanking her and asking for a pot to be brought in. A flash of magic had the normally poised man, nearly falling and dropping his coffee.

“Well it seems you should be thanking me, as I have gifted your son his Familiar.” Severus barely contained his laughter, unsure of whose face was more stunned, the father or the son.

*************************************************************************************************************

Thankfully breakfast was a small affair and Severus did not have to eat much. Much of the meal was spent celebrating the Familiar Bond that had formed. Lucius refused to be grateful towards the Potion’s Master but did give his son his blessing and congratulations. Much of it was spent with Draco describing the feelings he was getting from thought the bond, which was very little as firstly, the bond was fresh, and second, in Severus' opinion, the little demon was mostly made up of anger and rage.

Marble had made Draco’s favourite meal for lunch in his honour. Draco had rushed though the meal, begging to be excused as soon as he could, so that he could show his Familiar her new home. Lucius had attempted to use their son’s absence as an excuse to try and speak with the Head Auror, but Narcissa put her foot down.

“Please Dear. It is very important.” 

“I have no doubt.”

“And Draco is not with us. It shall only take a moment.”

“No Lucius. Our son will be back shortly, and just think how disappointed he will be in you if he were to learn you chose work over him.”

Severus enjoyed their back and forth, rather pleased that Narcissa was not focused on him. Tragically Fate was not on his side as Lucius decided to meddle.

“Severus, where have you been spending Yule?” A gleam in his eye. “ Do not tell me that Albus has you locked away in the Castle like a fair damsel in distress.”

“Thankfully, no I have not spent much time at Hogwarts this Holiday. Merely a couple of hours to collect my things.” Came his reply.

“So where are you staying? Spinner’s End is no place for Yule.”

“I was home only for a short time. It is mostly where I kept your son’s present.” He smirked at the scowl Lucius gave him.

“And she is a beautiful kneazle isn’t she my sweet?” Narcissa asked her husband.

“ Well I guess she is a better Familiar than a rat or a crup.” Lucius compromised. He still bemoaned the addition to the Family, and was fully planning his revenge on his friend. “ Do not think you can change the subject again, Severus. Who are you spending Yule with? A woman perhaps? A man? Do you secretly have a family we do not know about?”

Severus remained passive. “ Fortunately no to all of those. I am afraid I cannot say where I have been spending Yule.”

“But you have been celebrating yes?” Lucius asked, concerned his friend had locked himself away.

“Yes. I can safely say I have had a fun and interesting Yule. “ Severus deadpanned.

“And you will not tell us who you were with?”

“I cannot.” Severus saw the look in Narcissa’s eyes, and was certain that the woman had her suspicions, and he had no doubt she would figure everything out before long.

Dinner was just as grand as lunch had been, and Severus frowned at how much he found himself eating. Soon they settled comfortably in the Lucius’ study, with glasses of firewhiskey and the remains of a fruit cake that Narcissa had baked with the aid of Draco. From her words Severus suspected the boy spent more time taste testing than baking. Draco was currently lying on the floor near the fireplace, softly petting a sleeping Mirach.

“ How is Hogwarts, Severus?” Lucius asked. “ The dunderheads driving you to insanity yet?”

“They are as they always are. “ Severus responded. “ And how I suppose they always shall be.”

“And with Heir Potter?”

“Worse than his parents combined. He’s far smarter than James, thanks to his mother no doubt, which only makes him more reckless and annoying.” A bitter taste filled his mouth. “ He is the worst of the First Years, which isn’t saying much, as all of them are quite intolerable.

“Come now, it cannot be that bad.” A smile danced on Narcissa’s face. “ I am sure having your Godson has at least brightened the school year. I know the Halls of the Manor are darker without him.” She sighed dramatically. 

“Mama, you can’t just say things like that!”

“Oh but it’s true, my love. You are the light of our lives.” She lamented. “ This huge Manor is just so lonely and quiet without you.” She broke out in laughter as her son turned a brilliant pink. Lucius and Severus joined in, earning them scowls from the boy.

“Blaise still refuses to tell me where he’s been staying. And Pansy keeps sending me postcards from every city her parents take her to. I can’t understand how they aren’t staying in one place.” Draco was ranting about his friends. “ Bethany-” Severus noted the strained look that crossed Lucius’ face. “- claims she would be with the Greengrass Family since they are close Cousins. But both their letters are boring. They don’t say much. I’d have half expected for Daphne to list all of the guests, but she barely even mentions anyone.” 

Severus caught the moment that something clicked in in Narcissa’s eyes and he immediately turned away from her.

“Bethany is-” She paused dramatically. Everything she did was dramatic, Severus sighed, and they wondered where his Godson got it. “- a Potter?”

“Yes but not like THE Potter, like she’s a Potter but the French Potter. Her father is the Minister over there.” Draco rambled. “ She’s nothing like  _ Potter _ !” He defended his friend, spitting out the surname. It left little doubt in the adults’ minds that he meant the Heir. 

Severus was not afraid to tune out his Godson at this point, having listened to him rant about Harry far too much in the last three months. He stared mostly into his glass, feeling the side of his face burning under the intense gaze of Narcissa.

  
  


“Is Heir Potter also a Cousin to the Greengrass Family?” She asked her son, stopping his mid rant. Severus was aware she knew the answer, and he could not figure out why she would ask the question.

“Of course! Bethany, Daphne and  _ Potter  _ are all Second Cousins.” Draco replied. “It’s why Bethany says her dad has a much stronger claim to the Family Line than Potter should!” He apparently hadn’t expected the three matching glares as he flinched.

“Draco Lucius Malfoy! We have discussed this enough in our letters.” Disappointment dripping from her words.

“A Malfoy does not interfere with other Family Matters.” Lucius continued. “ You know what that has brought to our Family. Our Family is above that. You are better than that.” He gave Draco a stern look. Properly chastised, the boy went back to petting his new Familiar. 

“ Was Heir Potter staying at Hogwarts during the Holiday?” Narcissa asked after a few moments of peace.

“ No, he was on the train with Blaise and Theo.” His face giving away how he felt about his friends spending more time with Harry than himself. Narcissa nodded, and turned to quietly speak with her husband. Draco quieted down soon and remained on the floor even after Marble cleaned up. It wasn’t long after that the adults heard a quiet snore coming from the boy, and Lucius went to pick the sleeping pair up and carried them to Draco’s room.

“ Are you there on His orders?” She waited until she was certain her husband was well out of ear shot.

“I am sure that I have no idea what you mean.”

“You know exactly what I mean, Severus. Do not play games.” 

Severus let out a heavy sigh. He faced her fully, taking in everything about her; strong gaze, firm shoulders, and a tight frown. “What other options are there?”

“You and I both know not everything is black and white, Severus.” She impassioned, refusing to let Severus avoid answering. “ We know I can keep quiet.” A smile played on her lips.

The man kept quiet for a while, furtively praying that Lucius would return, as it was clear Narcissa hadn’t wanted him to be a part of the conversation. But when he did not, Severus sighed again.

“Heir Potter is incredibly bright. He has a mind for Slytherin.” He would say no more.

Narcissa leaned back in her chair, and remained silent in thought. It took quite some time before she responded and even then it was not what Severus had expected. “ I believe that Lucius and I shall be having a rather important chat soon and during the Summer we shall be having a discussion with Draco.” Her gaze fell onto Severus’ Marked arm. 

It wasn’t much later that Severus found himself too tired to deal with much more, and excused himself, wishing Lucius a goodnight as he passed the man in the hallway leading to his rooms. Tomorrow he would have breakfast with the Malfoys’ and their guests, and return to Fairhaven and to Harry.


	29. Chapter 29: The Return to Potter Manor

  
  


True to his word Severus returned to Fairhaven Manor just after lunch. A sense of Deja Vu hit him, as he left hugging his Godson, and stepped out of the floo only to be encased in Harry’s arms. He happily returned the hug, only noticing the stiff gaze of the Matron and her wife when he looked up.

Harry released his grip on him, and took the next five minutes to tell Severus every single thing that had happened while he was away. The man was thoroughly surprised and impressed as it seemed Harry didn’t even breathe the entire time. Harry took the man by the hand and led him to the boy’s rooms, wishing his Aunts a goodbye as they walked by. Severus noted the hard look once again that the Matron gave him, while the Lady gave him a soft smile.

“Now why don’t you tell me what you had tried to tell me before? Just more coherent please.” He gave Harry a wily smile.

Brilliantly pink, Harry retold him everything, thankfully much slower. “ They wanted me Sev. They actually wanted me.” He claimed with wonder in his voice. “ They still want me. Aunt Selina has invited me to come back whenever I want. And Jack and Phina were talking about taking me to France.” He stared off, clearly thinking of his future adventures.

Severus found himself just as happy, glad to know that the Matron actually proved herself a Gryffindor and reached out to Harry. He pushed his jealousy against his mental shields, knowing it was just a bit juvenile. He noticed a look from the boy, and watched as his face turned pink once again.

“I suppose there is something else?”

“Ah, well.” Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “I admitted that I loved you like I do my parents, and that you cared for me too.” he turned his head away in embarrassment.

Severus stood up and quickly pulled him into a hug. On impulse he kissed the top of his head. It took only a moment before Harry reacted, and hugged the Potion’s Master back. He found his words were stuck in his throat and hoped he was able to convey how much he loved and cared for Harry as much, even with just the hug.

Eventually they pulled apart, and in time for a House elf to inform them they were needed in the Hall. The Twelfth Day was the day of Thanks. The guest would show gratitude for being given shelter and food, by helping with food and cleaning, and the Host Family gave thanks to their guests in the form of valuables and riches. 

Thankfully cleaning took a simple swoosh of a wand, and only those that could cook were allowed into the Kitchens. No one wanted to get food poisoning on the last day of Yule. Another Tradition was that those who had not been given an extended invitation to stay would be back home before dinner. This included him and Harry, who had admitted he was invited to stay later, but Harry claimed he just wanted to get back to Potter Manor.

The pair split off, as Harry preferred to cook, and Severus took to cleaning as he was not the best in the kitchen, which Harry thought was hilarious as the man was literally a Potion’s Master. Harry couldn’t see how, as both cooking and potions making were inherently the same thing, but Severus refused to explain himself further, his face pinkening a bit.

Lunch was a hodgepodge of food, as clearly every ‘chef’ decided to make their best dish for the Greengrass Family. Severus avoided much, eating a rather tasty fruit salad and a hearty potato stew. Harry had admitted he took over baking much of the desserts with the aid of a few other cooks following his lead. Severus was not proud to admit he ended up eating far too many pastries.

None too soon, in Severus’ opinion, it was time for the Matron and her wife to hand out their presents. Most received money or vouchers, with more personal gifts appearing to be jewelry and watches. It took quite a while for the elderly pair to make themselves around the room, obviously grateful that House elves were popping in and out to bring their gifts. As each person received their gift, they made their way out of the Hall, presumably to finish packing their things and leaving. Severus really was not concerned with the gifts being given to the French Potters, giving them only a passing glance as the Twins were given matching necklaces. Eventually though they made their way to where Harry and himself were sitting. They turned to Harry first.

The Matron gave Harry a great bear hug, pulling away and kissing his forehead. She pulled away and allowed Lady Greengrass to repeat her actions.

“Harry, we have so much to be Thankful for. The first being that you accepted our invitation. You have no idea how happy we are that you have accepted us into your life. Second we are Thankful for all your magic and Blessings you gave to us and our wards. You have brought wonder and joy to us.” The Matron gave him another hug. She whispered something into his ear, causing Harry to let out a laugh as she pulled away, giving way to her wife.

“As Lady Greengrass, it is my honour to gift you these.” She handed him a small gold coloured box. Harry opened it, gasping at its contents. He took hold of the item and brought it out to view. “ To be fair your glasses are rather poor in quality and if I may be so bold, not strong enough for you. As a Charm’s Master I have spelled those to be Unbreakable as well as protective charms to keep others from Summoning them off your face. They will also strengthen or weaken their prescription as you need them too.” She took them from his hand, so that he could reach up and remove her old pair, before she placed them on for him. “ Not to mention the gold colour and the oval shape fit your face so much more.” She winked at him and stepped back.

“As the Matron of House Greengrass, it is my honour to gift this to you.” She reached out of her pocket, and handed the item to Harry, placing it into his hands and gripping the item and his hands together. “Know this, while I may be a bit biased in the strength of House Potter, my reason for this gift is not because we share blood, Heir Potter.” She pulled away her hands to reveal a broach. Severus raised his eyebrow when he looked for the broach, in fact, had the Greengrass House Crest imprinted on it. A silver etching of the Warding Tree on the property, layered on top of a grid of two colours, green and gold. “ We, myself and my Family, wish to reaffirm our Alliance with House Potter. While you cannot accept as you are only the Heir, know that the offer will follow you until you are able to accept.” Harry held the broach, tears streaking down his face, before he held it up, asking for the Matron to pin it to him. She accepted and they embraced once more after she finished pinning it to his cloak. 

Ending the embrace she turned away to look at Severus, a rather stern look. “ House Greengrass Thanks you for attending, Master Snape.” She pulled out a plan envelope, and handed it to him. Her actions earned her a scowl from her wife and from Harry. “ Oh fine. As Matron of House Greengrass, it is my honour to gift you a voucher.” Severus opened the envelope, pulling out four different vouchers. “ My son Eugene claims you are one of the Greatest Potion’s Masters, and House Greengrass wishes to aid you in your endeavors. The vouchers are for any Greengrass owned apothecary or botanist. Know we shall give you access to our best plants.” She then awkwardly pulled the man into a hug. “ Harry has claimed you like as a stand in for his parents. Know if you ever hurt him. House Greengrass may not be the strongest or the richest, but we will hunt you to the ends of the Earth.” She whispered before pulling away from him. 

With one more hug, Severus and Harry made their way to their rooms, where to his surprise, Bramble had already packed his things and informed him that she had sent them to Potter Manor, upon checking with Harry he learned that the Elf had done the same for him. Harry refused to go before he said farewell to everyone, and he hunted down Eugene and Georgia first, earning hugs and promises to send him letters and treats once he was back at Hogwarts. 

Georgia also informed him she would keep him updated on the twins, giving Harry a kiss on both cheeks. Both Greengrass’ shook Severus hand, and offered their thanks for watching and caring for Harry.

Harry also made sure to say goodbye to as many of the Greengrass House Elves as possible, with Severus having no idea how the boy remembered each of their names. He even gave them all little presents.

Finally they made their way to Minister Potter and his family. Harry found himself in a great bear hug from the Minister, and a softer one from his wife. Promises to write were made once more. 

Minister Potter pulled Severus aside as Harry was talking animatedly with his Cousins.

“He is a wonderful boy.”

“ He is decent enough.” Severus responded.

“None of that now.” Minister Potter responded. “ We have all seen the soft spot you have for him. You will continue to take care of him though, or I will have the entire French Auror Department deal with you.” He continued, only half joking.

“ I’ve dealt with the British Aurors, I believe I can handle the French as well.”

“That first bit I have no doubt.” Minister Potter laughed, walking away to give Harry another hug before they parted.

*************************************************************************************************************

  
Severus had presented Harry with a Boomslang, to which the boy spent far to long talking to him. After claiming that the snake was called 'Feared By the Many in the Sands, or Sands for short, Harry hugged the man, much to his dismay as they had a rather venomous snake pressed up between them.

"You'll be unable to keep him while at Hogwarts." Which had earned him a frown, and a hiss from the snake who apparently understood English. Great. "However, as the Potion's Master, it would not be uncommon for me to have a Boomslang in my classroom. I believe it prudent to have his terrarium placed within my class. You may visit him whenever you wished, and you are free to have him on the weekends if you promise to stay safe." Harry had happily agreed, and took the new snake to his room. 

He came back a few moments later, disappointed in the fact that Saffron was deeply asleep again and she wouldn't wake up for at least another week, and so she wouldn't meet Sands for a while. 

The last couple of days at Potter manor had been rather quiet. Harry had asked Severus to check on all his Holiday work, and Severus was proud of the fact that other than some spelling and grammar related errors, not much needed to be touched upon when it came to revisions. Still Harry took his corrections to heart, and spent nearly two days on all his essays demanding the man check them once more, and only after Severus claimed they were all worth O’s did Harry relax.

And by relax, Harry meant he tried to explore every inch of the Manor. Severus for his part still felt of kilter and bewildered at being in Potter Manor in the first place. He felt incredibly out of place and uncomfortable, and even with Harry’s constant reminder that he had the permission of the Heir to do as he pleased, Severus took to only staying in his rooms, the Library, and trekking through the Greenhouses to find ingredients.

On New Years, the pair found themselves eating a meal in an enclosed gazebo out in the garden. Warming charms kept them from freezing, as snow lightly pelted the ground around them.

“What do Wizards do for New Years?” Harry asked, catching Severus off guard.

“Well many things. Most Celebrate the upcoming year with feasts and displays.” Severus pondered for a moment. “ Magically, most do nothing. While it is a momentous day by many, it is not a truly Magical day. I prefer to let the new year come with a nice quiet celebration.” Responding, knowing that it would be Harry’s next question. The boy was constantly trying to learn everything about him.

“So we can have a quiet one too?” Harry said, relief evident in his voice. 

“I am sure we could find a New Year party, if you so wished.” Severus teased.

“Please no. Yule was enough for me.”

And so the New Year did come quietly to the pair, who had remained out in the gardens well past midnight, and Severus carried the small boy to his room.

The quiet was ruined the very next day though. Severus was once again in the Library, having found a Fourth Edition of  If It Bites, It’s Good Enough For Your Potion , when he heard Harry scream out his name. In panic, Severus dropped the book, rushing out of his car, and spilling his glass of firewhiskey. He made it a handful of steps before he nearly barreled into Dingly, who had popped out of nowhere, claiming she would bring him to Master Harry.

The House Elf version of Apparating was rather unsettling for the man and he nearly collapsed once they reached their destination. He did fall to his knees though as he saw what had troubled Harry so much. 

On the wall above the mantle were two portraits, one of a smiling woman with glowing green eyes and fiery red hair, and the other, a solid looking man with a sly smile and rounded glasses, with dark hair clearly not combed. Lily and James.

“Why aren’t they moving?” Harry demanded, tears in his eyes. “ Aren’t they magical paintings? Sev, make them move!” He pulled the man up, dragging him over to them.

“ I cannot, Harry.” Still the man reverently raised his hand, grazing the portrait of Lily’s frame. He shuddered as he felt the vibration of magic flowing through it. “ Feel this.” As he grabbed Harry’s hand and rested it on the frame. “ They are magical paintings.”

“They are!” Harry grew excited. “ But why aren’t they moving.”

“No magic.” A small voice behind them caused them to jump.

“ What do you mean Dingly?” Harry asked the House Elf.

“The Manor is not having enough Potter Magic for the paintings.”

Severus realized what the little Elf had meant, remembering how no painting, either portrait or scenery, moved or interacted with anything. “Because the Manor has been abandoned for so long, the Family Magic hasn’t been around to activate them?” Earning a nod from the Elf.

“So the longer I stay here the sooner the paintings will come back?” A slightly deranged look claimed the boy’s face, causing Severus to shiver.

“Older paintings be first.” She told them.

Severus looked hard at Harry, and in a moment his intentions clicked.

“Harry you have to return to Hogwarts. Your education is far too important.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.” Already Harry was prepared to fight.

“No but I can and I will drag you out of this Manor.” He responded sternly, before pulling Harry into a tight hug. “ They wouldn’t want you to hermit yourself away in this Manor just so that you can waste away for their paintings.” He whispered to the boy, whose entire body was racked with sobs. “ It will be alright. “ He comforted Harry as best as he could. He continued to cry for some time.

Harry had claimed he wanted to spend more time in the study with his parents’ paintings, and Severus relented. He left as he could not bear to be under their unseeing gaze. He spoke instead to Dingly who walked him out.

“He cannot stay her Dingly, we must make sure he doesn’t trap himself in there.”

“Dingly knows. Bramble not allowing us to leave him.” Came her reply, relaxing Severus a bit, knowing that Bramble would help him. True to her words, Bramble popped Harry into the dining room for lunch and for dinner, much to his dismay. Severus forced Harry away when he tried to go back after dinner, and instead Severus read from his newfound book to Harry until both fell asleep by the fire. They'd be back to Hogwarts the next day.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, the week I decide to go back to double postings is the busiest week ever. Thankfully its not over, so Hopefully I can work at a more manageable time frame. I did get my two chapters in though :D


	30. Chapter 30: Returning To Hogwarts

Sev had caught him twice more trying to return to his parents paintings. The third attempt hadn't even progressed out of Harry's room seeing as Sev stood at the doorway.

"Must you?" Was the man's only comment.

Harry gave him a shy smile, rubbing the back of his neck. " Find then, back to bed." He motioned for Harry to his bed, before following him in.

Before Harry could ask what he was doing, the Potions Master Transfigured Harry's reading chair into a simple cot, and placed it before the door.

" We have a busy day tomorrow, and. I cannot allow you to waste the night in that room." He gave Harry a look filled with sympathy. " Since there is not enough time for a sleeping potion to clear out of your system before you must awaken, I will simply stand guard here."

Harry, at first thought he was joking. But as the man further Transfigured himself a blanket as well as a pillow, he realized he was planning to stay. Oddly he found this to be rather comforting. Still he could not help but think of ways to return to his parents paintings.

" They are not your parents, Harry." Sev spoke up, speaking as if reading Harry's mind. " They are impressions, albeit of your parents, but at a specific time in their life. We do not even know when they were made."

" But they are close enough." Harry whispered. Tears flowing from his eyes. " They will still love me like my parents would."

" You are a wonderful child, of course they would love you." He responded. " But they are only paintings, Harry. They may speak to you, but they cannot hug you or hold you or kiss you. They cannot take you to places, nor can they give you things." He paused as Harry's quiet sobs made their way. " I am sorry. I truly am, but you cannot idealize them and obsess over their restoration."

" My head knows that, Sev." Harry admitted, tears still filling his eyes. " But my chest, it hurts to think they are right there and I cannot do anything."

"I know, child." Harry felt rather than heard the emotions in that statement. He knew that the paintings were affecting Sev, nearly as much as himself if, perhaps, in a different way.

"Goodnight Sev." Harry whispered after silence echoed in the room. He thought the man to be asleep.

"Goodnight Harry." Sev whispered back.

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Harry awoke just after dawn, well aware that he was alone. That was until, Dingly popped in with a letter.

_ Harry,  _

_ The train leaves promptly at 10:00 am. Dingly will transfer you. ( I refuse to use the word 'popping' as you so eloquently put it.) My House Elf, Ebony has Warded the room the paintings are in. Bramble has assured me she will not let you miss the train. _

_ Take care. I shall see you tonight. _

_ Love,  _

_ Severus. _

Harry felt a bit mixed emotions as he reread the letter. But thought better of it as he got ready for the train ride. He had already met Ebony and knew that she was not a House Elf Harry wanted to anger. 

Bramble had served Harry his breakfast in his Study, not wanting to eat alone in the dining room. 

" Where have you been, if you don't mind me asking?" Harry had known she wasn't in the Manor when they had returned. She was odd to say the least, not always being there when he called her. 

" More Potters be born." Came her reply. " Bramble be with the new Mother."

Harry couldn't help but smile, knowing there were more Cousins for him to meet. " Do they need anything? Am I supposed to give them a gift or anything?"

" Only 300 galleons a child." Her was her reply.

"Have any other Potters been born since I've become Heir?"

"They's be the first."

"They?"

"Triplets." Her smile showed how much joy it brought her.

" Then be sure to send 900 galleons." He paused. " Would, umm, would inviting the Family to the Manor during the summer to Celebrate be too late?"

Bramble only nodded. " It be proper to Celebrate."

Harry thought for a moment. " I will send a letter to Aunt Selina when I'm back at Hogwarts. She'll help me write a proper invitation, as well as telling me who to invite." 

His response earned him another nod from Bramble before she popped away. He couldn't help but feel like he was passing tests whenever he spoke with her.

Time passed slowly for Harry, as the House Elves already had him packed and dressed well before he needed to be at Kings Cross. He was itching to go back to his parents room, but he really didn’t want to disappoint Sev. It was totally not because he was afraid of Ebony, not at all.

Instead he unpacked his trunk and repacked it to keep himself busy. Saffron’s compartment was rather messy, and Harry was surprised to see she was awake.

“ _ ~Are you feeling well?~ _ ” He asked her, gently picking her up and scratching her head. Saffron leaned into his fingers hissing her approval.

_ “~I am well. It is you that is not. Our bond has been screaming for a while, and one of the House Eves locked my compartment!~ _ ” She hissed angrily. “ _ ~ Let me free so I might bite them all.~ _ ”

That only made Harry hold her more strongly, and she eventually settled as he prolonged his scratches finding that spot just above her left eye that made her melt in his hands. Once she was more reasonable, she spoke.

“ _ ~ You were struggling, and it woke me.~ _ ” She wiggled her way out of his grasp and wrapped herself around his neck, hiding her body within his collar. “ _ ~ I will be with you today to make up for not being with you yesterday~ _ ”

Harry’s eyes weld up, and after trying and failing to tell her she had not done anything wrong, he told her about his day. She had wanted to visit his parents' portraits but after telling her Sev had restricted access, she muttered how it was wise to listen to the Potions Master.

Speaking with Saffron had thankfully made time fly and with a quiet pop, and then a thank you to Dingly, Harry found himself in an empty corner of the platform. With his trunk and Hedwig’s cage Shrunk in his pocket, Harry easily slid through the crowd, careful to avoid being recognized. He clambered onto the train, and found his way into a compartment that he could easily see his friends get onto the train. 

He expanded his trunk and pulled out a book, before Shrinking the trunk again and pocketing it. He had made sure to grab a treat for Saffron as well, who was easily irritated at being awake when her instincts were telling her to sleep.

  
  


Daphne was the first to arrive. Harry watched as Eugene and Georgia hugged and kissed her farewell, as well as watching Astoria pout about being left behind. Soon they were joined by both Theo and Blaise, the latter who was given the biggest hug from the most beautiful woman Harry had ever seen.

Blaise had long since stolen Harry’s book and had somehow convinced him to join in on people watching. Theo and Daphne both refused with Daphne claiming it was juvenile. 

Blaise seemed to take great joy in discussing the lives of random passersby, giving each one a more outrageous backstory or job than the last. At one point he implied that a rather older looking man was secretly the Queen’s long lost half-brother Ferdinand and was here because his great great great granddaughter was a First Year Hufflepuff. He of course could not name her because as he put it.

“She is already living a secret life because of her great great great grandfather Fernie. Why would I put her in danger by telling you her name, Hamish?”

Harry had shook his head after this, having more fun than he thought he would. He had kept an eye out for his friends, and was happy to note that Terry and Michael had both spotted him in the window, and made their way to his compartment to say hello before moving on. 

He still had not come across Neville, as well as his Cousins. But that was mostly as Jack had wished to avoid as much of a crowd as possible, and so the Twins were more than likely already on the train. He was about to ask Blaise for his book back when a group of redheads caught his eye. He got the attention of Blaise who was describing to a bored and clearly annoyed Daphne about how the couple in matching green robes were actually assassins coming to kill the conductor. His actions actually got Daphne and Theo’s attention as well, and soon all four of them were watching the travesty that was the’ Weasley Rush’ as Blaise deemed it.

The Twins, Harry was sure was on purpose, kept weaving between themselves and their siblings, causing as much confusion as possible as they moved anything that they could from their trolley to Ron’s or Percy’s. Mrs. Weasley was clearly flustered and between hugging each of her boys, and yelling at them. Harry almost missed when one of the Twins, George Harry believed, handed something to their younger sister, who shared a smirk with the pair. Harry watched as Fred then distracted his mother, and George went to Percy, so that the sister was able to slip whatever was in her hand into Ron’s pocket as she awkwardly gave him a hug.

Harry had at first felt a little bad that she was clearly trying to prank him, however after watching Ron practically throw his sister off him, he found very little sympathy for the angry redhead. He could only hope that whatever the prank was it would not bother him.

Finally it seemed that they were all prepared and about to board the train. Mrs. Weasley made them form a line, giving them all hugs and a kiss to the cheek before bidding them farewell.

Ron, clearly embarrassed, wiped at his face before stomping up to the train. Percy smiled, gave the Twins a glare and followed the youngest Weasley brother, leaving the Twins. 

The Twins for their part, wrapped their mother in a giant hug, both of them giving her matching wet kisses to her checks. She swatted at them with a huge smile on her face. Shooing them to hurry up. Instead the repeated toe process with their sister who had managed to get her hands up and pushed their faces out of hers, before they repeated their actions with her. 

The pair broke away laughing and making their way to the train. Fred spotted Harry, and whispered something to George just as they climbed up. 

“Weasley Twins, incoming.” Harry informed his friends. He watched as they all scrambled a bit, closing trunks and blocking pockets, so as to make sure the Twin Terrors did not try and stuff pranks on them. 

It was just in time as there was a knock on their door, before it burst open and the Twins popped in.

"Hello -"

"boys and girl."

"Having fun spying-"

" on unsuspecting families?”

“Or perhaps-”

“You were looking for your next victims-”

“ to torment or might we dare say-”

“Prank?”

“Well, we would suggest-”

“Dear Ronnikins-”

“But we think he will have enough-”

“Soon.”

Harry wore a huge grin as the pair went at it, While it clearly annoyed Daphne and it seemed to intrigue Theo, while also confusing Blaise, it was pure entertainment to Harry.

“So what did you give your sister?” Blaise asked, thankful when the Twins had stopped.

They shared a look before Fred responded. “ We have no idea what you mean.”

“We are entirely innocent from any and all explosions you may or may not hear today.” George finished.

“Now,” The pair turned to Harry, with Fred speaking. “ We mostly wished to speak with Harry here, concerning why we felt his magic settle on us during Yule.”

“Were you practicing Rituals all on your lonesome Harrikins?” George asked.

“No, I was with Family.” Harry stammered, chancing a glance at Daphne.

“ Oh can we talk about this now?” Blaise grinned.

“Actually I would like to know this as well.” Theo claimed, interested in how Harry managed to reach them all.

“It wasn’t just you guys.” Daphne smirked. “ Harry’s magic reached out to a lot of Potters and Greengrasses as well. Even those he didn’t even know. Aunt Selina was telling my Father about all of the letters she had received in response.

“Guys! It’s not a big deal. I just asked Magic to Bless my friends and family! Like you are supposed to.” Harry defended himself, his face turning a hot pink.

“Harry, normally - don’t give me that look-, the Blessing is reserved for only those who are in the same place as you.” Theo deadpanned. “ Not to people on different Continents.” He casually pointed to Blaise.

“Oh, Harrikins!” Fred bellowed loudly. “ You think enough of us to call us friends?”

“Perhaps Gred,” George spoke to his Twin, “ He thinks of us to be family.” They shared a look, and Harry was soon pulled into a tight hug between the Twins, and suffered the indignity of being given two wet kisses, very much reminiscent of their earlier actions. They only pulled away as Saffron, who had been sleeping, hissed out at them.

Unfortunately while this did stop their antics, it opened up a whole new avenue for the twins to ask Harry questions about why he had a snake wrapped around his neck.

  
  
  


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Severus bemoaned waking up early, especially because he did not sleep well, his concern for Harry keeping him awake. However he made sure to get ready in a timely manner, well aware that he should have been back at the Castle yesterday morning. He was grateful to Filius, who had agreed to cover for him, allowing him to remain with Harry for one more night. 

The Charms Professor had taken Severus’ task of confirming that the Dungeons were prank free and safe as well as confirming that the early Slytherins were cared for. He would definitely have to get the man a gift, knowing how much of a pain his Snakes would have been, as they would have attempted to interrogate the Professor on Severus’ whereabouts. 

He wrote a note out for Harry, and after confirming with Bramble, had Ebony Ward off the Study. He would be deeply upset if Harry were to not find himself on the train back to the Castle.

With much of his blood being replaced with coffee and Pepper-Up Potions, Severus made his way to the property line, denying Dingly’s offer to transfer him. The cold air would do much to help him wake up. It also had the added bonus of making him crankier, and hopefully that would be enough to keep Albus from asking too many questions.

It was not. With perhaps forty steps into the school, Severus was bombarded with questions from the man. Asking him where he was and if he had a nice Holiday. It was only after informing the man that Severus had spent Yule with a Family on the Continent who had evoked the Blessing of Silence, that Albus calmed down. He was certainly not going to admit he was with the Greengrass Family. It also helped that the Blessing of Silence was rather commonplace on the Continent, especially in the eastern parts of Europe, and that Severus’ former Mentor still lived there.

Still it was clear that something had unsettled the Headmaster, and no matter how much Severus’ questioned the man in return, he received no answer. 

They held a small faculty meeting, with Minerva and Pomona discussing a situation where two students were found on the third floor over the break. It seems a Fifth Year Hufflepuff had dared a Sixth Year Gryffindor, and had nearly gotten into trouble. It was only thanks to Albus’ age line that the pair were not mauled by ‘Fluffy’. Still it was too close of a call to Minerva, and she asked everyone to pick up more patrol shifts on the third floor. 

The rest of the meeting was just a review of lesson plans, and for the Professors to raise any concerns in their student grades coming into the new term, Thankfully it was over in the blink of an eye, and Severus made a polite dash out of the room, in hopes that he could escape any more questioning. 

Alas it was not meant to be, as Filius invited Severus to his office for some tea. Begrudgingly he followed the other Professor and accepted a mug.

Filius started, pausing only as Severus raised his hand. “Before we get too far, know that the Blessing of Silence was evoked.” 

“Ah yes, that does make this quite interesting then.” He rubbed his chin for a moment. “ Perhaps it would be best to speak vaguely?” Severus nodded his approval. “ Did he have fun?”

“Quite a bit I believe.” 

“Do you believe that he has made a connection with them?” Filius seemed to struggle with his word choice.

“The boy has indeed bonded with his hosts. It would seem that they have a bright future together.”

Filius smiled at that, before pausing as a hint of concern flitted across his face. “ Does that concern you?”

Severus placed his mug down and folded his hands together before speaking. “ In the beginning it did, however we spoke about it and have come to an understanding.” He thought back to one of the conversations, and realized it was in fact spoken after the Yule Celebrations had ended. “ He told me that he cared greatly for me, placing me on the same level as his parents. It was perhaps the best thing ever told to me.”

Filius nearly laughed at the happy look on the man’s face, joyful at how far the man before him had come along. He had no doubt that much of it was because of Harry, and he could not wait to see where having Harry in his life took the man.

His interrogation lasted only a few more questions before the colleagues finished their tea, and Severus made his exit, escaping to the Dungeons to speak with his Snakes, and confirm his office and classroom were how he left them.

  
  
  
  
  
  



	31. Chapter 31: Hogwarts Is A Very Safe Place To Send Children

Time seemed to fly by. Once Harry got back into the groove of school, January bled into February almost as if in the blink of an eye. 

Starting in the new year, all the Professors decided it was time to take off the training wheels so to speak. What was once a twelve inch paper for homework had become fifteen to twenty regularly. Sev and Professor McGonagall were especially vindictive, at least in Blaise's opinion, having their essays always leaning towards the longer limit. Harry tried to point out that both Transfiguration and Potions were the more dangerous subjects taught, and that understanding the theory made it a bit safer, earned him such a look of betrayal from his friend that Harry almost felt bad. 

The best part about classes though, was that they were far more practical. Almost every class involved practicing spells, or in Sev's case, interacting with the ingredients they were learning about and making at least one potion a week.

Harry had learned, at least for himself, that most spells were about Will and how much he wanted something. Still he made sure to speak the spells clearly and properly, as well as using his Holly wand. He had found that he could use the wand to focus more accurately, and after an incident where he caused everything in the room to fly into the air when they were practicing the levitation spell, Harry was sure to use it when he wanted his magic to only affect a particular item.

The boys' study group had also become a near permanent part of their schedule. Whereas they would meet once or twice a week formally, they were not more often than not in their little corner of the library nearly every day. Harry had been a kind dictator, as Theo and Blaise whispered, and had given them all Wednesday off. 

Their study group had expanded to having members of all Houses as well; Harry, Blaise, Terry, Michael and Padma from Ravenclaw, Neville and Aiden from Hufflepuff, with Heir Bones and her friend Abbott joining from time to time, Theo, Daphne, Vinny and Gregg from Slytherin, and just Parvati and Brown from Gryffindor.

Parvati had admitted that the boys, Finnegan, Ron, and Thomas claimed they were smart enough, while also implying that Harry had somehow cursed everyone into joining his group. It really didn't bother Harry though, as Ron was still annoying to deal with.

And like January before, February flowed into March just as quickly. March brought a lot of firsts into Harry's life. Some that were good, some that were bad, and some that Harry cursed Merlin for.

As the weather turned, leaving the blistering cold windy days into only mildly cold sunny days, Madam Hooch restarted her flying lessons. Harry couldn't wait for them to come fast enough. He had greatly enjoyed the lessons in October before the weather worsened, and he was being ' scouted' by the current Captain of the Ravenclaw team, Savannah Davenport. Sadly she would be graduating at the end of the year, but she was already to give Harry the Seeker position, that she basically told her replacement, Rebecca Stowe, to shove it.

Flying around was probably one of the greatest things Harry had ever experienced, and after Madam Hooch allowed them to fly freely, only informing them not to fly too far away, too high or into each other, did Harry let loose. At one point he had perhaps reached the height limit, as he could barely make out Madam Hooch or the seven or so members of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams who were able to volunteer to help the flight instructor, and he dived down, avoiding a few Hufflepuffs including Aiden and Neville. 

It was when he was about twenty feet off the ground that the broom beneath him started to buckle. With very little warning the broom turned into a bull, and Harry struggled to stay on. His calls for help had gotten the attention from Madam Hooch and her volunteers. Quite a few of the team mates took to the sky to try and help him. Unfortunately just as a Hufflepuff managed to reach him, the broom lurched heavily away causing Harry to fall. 

"ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" Madam Hooch cast at him, slowing his fall. It wasn't enough though and Harry fell with a sickening crack, pain radiating from his wrist.

Madam Hooch called an end to the lessons, asking two of the Ravenclaw players to escort Harry to Madam Pomfrey and the Infirmary. After telling them how oddly the broom’s magic felt, Davenport and Stowe claimed that they would inform Madam Hooch and that she would investigate. An unsafe broom was almost always checked before it was retired anyway, but neither players had ever seen a broom act so erratically before.

Thus Harry spent his first night in the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was kind but stern, and Harry wished that he would never find himself under her watch again. The good part of his injury was the treats. All his friends made sure to visit him, with Blaise and Theo handing him a large box containing a grand assortment of chocolate. Sev had come much later, well past curfew.

“I have spoken with Madam Hooch.” Sev spoke softly. “ She claims that your broom was hexed.”

“Thank Merlin.” Harry exclaimed, not aware of the look of concern that appeared on the man’s face. “ Can you make sure that Stowe knows it wasn’t my fault? I really want to try out for Quidditch next year.” 

“Harry, I think perhaps that should be the least of your worries.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “ Someone was trying to harm you.”

“Oh.” Only then did it sink in. It was probably thanks to the pain relieving potions that Harry did not freak out, having numbed both his pain and his anxiety, a rather decent potion if Harry thought to himself.

“Madam Hooch has brought it to the attention of the Headmaster. “Sev continued. “ However we know how that shall go. I’ve taken it upon myself to investigate and your Head of House has also agreed to aid me.” By then the potions were making Harry tired and he had attempted to speak, but only a yawn escaped him. Soon he had fallen asleep, unaware that the Potions Master sat by his bedside all night, slipping away just before Madam Pomfrey woke to check in on her patient.

Midway through March, Bethany had asked Harry if she could join his study group. After consulting with his friends he had agreed. She worked rather well with everyone at least, and Harry decided she was a decent improvement into the group. March was also the beginning of the letters and gifts being sent to him from his newly found Family. It was not to be said that no one had sent him things in those prior two months, it was just that now he received something daily.

Georgia, true to her word, sent Harry updates on the Twins, as well as a near constant supply of chocolate, that Blaise stole, claiming it was far superior to what his own Cousins sent him. Eugene sent him rather simple letters, but seeing as the man was rather stoic in person, Harry was only happy that he reached out. 

Jack and Phina, mostly Jack, sent Harry jokes and pranks, claiming it was his duty as the ‘cool’ Cousin, to keep Harry laughing. Phina for her part sent Harry simple gifts, including a set of quills that glided so smoothly on parchment, that Harry charmed them from being stolen. Theo had accidentally found out about it, when he picked one up and was summarily shocked.

Aunt Selina and Aunt Wilma, sent Harry stories of his grandfather and grandmother as well as treats. He was not ashamed to admit he treasured their letters the most. 

Harry smuggled all of his letters away, hiding them in a box in Saffron’s compartment, where she claimed she would guard them with her life, or at least until someone offered her a treat of her own. It was perhaps all he could ask of her, as she fell back to sleep immediately.

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A rumour had sprouted concerning the Weasley Twins, and Harry took it upon himself to investigate. They were his friends and he didn’t want them to be hurt or in trouble. It was quite an adventure hunting for them, and it was only after Harry caught one of them- Fred- tickling a pear in a painting near the Hufflepuff Common room, that Harry was able to speak with them. That was after he closed his mouth in awe as he witnessed the Kitchens in all the wonder.

It was only after a House Elf named Pop offered Harry some cake and a hot chocolate, that Harry sat with the Twins.

“Someone told me you guys got into the third floor corridor.” Harry sipped from his mug, happy that it was the perfect temperature.

The Twins shared a look, having a quiet conversation between them. “ And what if we have? Looking for a way up there yourself?” George questioned him.

“Not really. I was just worried about you guys.” He relied honestly.

Apparently they hadn’t expected that, and they shared another silent conversation before Fred spoke. “ We did.” He paused, until George shoved him a bit and told him to continue. “ There really isn’t much up there. It’s mostly just dust and cobwebs.” Again he stopped, and it was clear to Harry their conversation was more of a debate. 

“What else?” 

“Well you see.” Fred looked at his Twin who only shrugged. “ We want to tell you, but it is a bit dangerous. We don’t want to be the reason that you made your way there.”

“ Do you want a promise or something?” Harry asked with a smile, knowing the irony of the Terror Twins, as they were aptly named, to honour words.

Fred sighed a bit, as his brother laughed along with Harry. “Fine, there’s a Cerberus.”

Out of all the things Harry believed could be hiding in an abandoned hallway, he had to admit that Cerberus was not one of them. “ There’s a three headed dog, locked away in the School?” 

“Not really locked per say. The door was opened easily enough. It’s just that the dog is too big for the door to get out.” George admitted.

Harry found the fact that the only thing keeping a giant three headed dog from running rampant in the school filled with children was a small door. Because there was no way that the creature could be taken out of the room the same way it was apparently placed in. 

When he mentioned it to the Twins they both paled, before Fred’s face brightened. “ Well the good news is that if it ever escapes, music apparently puts it right to sleep.”

“How’d you hear that?”

“Hagrid told us, and since Fluffy is his, he’d know how to handle the thing.” Harry wasn’t quite sure what to do with the fact that Hagrid would apparently name a creature used in Mythology to guard the gates of Hades, Fluffy. Instead he received a loose promise from the Pair to stay away, or at least safe, before making his way out of the Kitchens. He was definitely going to have to be Theo there soon. Blaise later, much later so that the House Elves took a liking to Harry and Theo before they were subjected to Blaise’s quirks.

He wandered a bit aimlessly before realizing that one of the Professors would probably need to know what the Twins were doing. He hated the possibility of getting them in trouble, but it was better to be in detention then in the Infirmary.

He praised whatever God above that had guided him to Professor Flitwick's office and not Sev's as he found both Professors conversing in the Charms Master's office. Harry politely knocked at the door and entered as Professor Flitwick invited him in.

"Ah Heir Potter, Professor Snape and I were just about finished, if you wished to wait outside." The jovial Professor exclaimed. " we may speak when he leaves."

  
  


"Actually sir, if you don't mind, I need to speak with you both." Harry explained, earning him an interested look from them both. 

" Oh, well then it'll only be a moment." He smiled at Harry. Harry stepped out of the office, fiddling with his fingers as his anxiety took over a bit. He practiced his breathing as Sev had taught him and didn't notice as the man himself had opened the door to let him in.

The man gently placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder, earning him a bit of a flinch and a weak smile. Harr could only wave away the man’s concern though as he went to sit before his Head of House.

“Now what is it that we can help you with?” Professor Flitwick asked.

“ Uhhh. Well you know the rumours going on about the Weasley Twins?” Harry rambled a bit. “ We you see, I decided I wanted to ask them ,and then I tracked them down, which led me to the Kitchens and wow the Kitchens are amazing. One of the House Elves gave me the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had and-” He stopped himself as he saw the annoyed look on Sev’s face. “Sorry, um, anyways. The rumours, right. Well everyone was talking about how the Twins claimed to have gotten into the third floor corridor. You know the one that no one is supposed to go to.” He couldn’t miss the stiffening of both Professor's back.

“What did they say?” Professor Flitwick urged Harry on as he had stopped.

“Um, they confirmed that they did.” His hands wringing. “ I don’t want to get them in trouble, but they could get hurt.” He took a deep breath. “ They told me about how there’s a Cerberus and how apparently Hagrid told them that you can put it to sleep with music.” He flinched as Sev seemed to growl in anger. The man muttered an apology, glancing at Professor Flitwick, before giving Harry a hug, and a calming draught from his pockets, and apologizing for having to leave, before his robes billowed behind him as he stored out of the office. Moments later a blinding white orb floated into the room.

“Harry, please come to my office after dinner.” Sev’s voice came out of it before it faded away.

“Well it seems that Professor Snape will be handling the Twins.” The short Professor tried to shake off whatever had bothered him before. “ Well Heir Potter, this has been a most fortuitous moment, as I had plans to invite you for a cup of tea later today.” He smiled as Harry. He then began searching for something on his desk before pulling out a piece of parchment. “ In fact!” He waved his wand over the found parchment, charming it to fold into a bird, which then flew directly to Harry, landing in his outstretched hand.

_ Heir Potter, _

_ Please come to my office at your earliest convenience. _

_ Professor Flitwick. _

Harry unfolded and read it, turning to give the Professor a really confused look. “ What am I supposed to do with this?” He blurted out.

“ Anything you want. It’s yours now.” The man gave Harry such an amused smile. The absurdly drove Harry into peels of laughter and it took far too long for him to calm down. Eventually he did, and Professor Flitwick explained why he was wishing to talk with him.

“Well Heir Potter. I just wish to inform you that you have not taken the top ranking of the First Years.” Harry could only give the man a stunned look. “ Now let’s see. “ He handed Harry another piece of parchment and Harry found he could only look at it in bewilderment. “ As you may have noticed, you are currently first in Transfiguration, History, Charms and Defense.” He paused, reading something that was written in the margins. “ Professor McGonagall mentions that your essays have been exemplary, and both myself and Professor Sprout are more than impressed by your work in class.” He smiled broadly at Harry. “Professor Snape claims you are “competent” and Professor Quirrell claims you have great potential.” 

Harry was still rather stunned, having not expected to be beating his entire year.

“Now, you may have noticed that you are second in both Herbology and Potions.” He must have noticed a change in Harry’s face as he tried to pacify whatever anxiety had shown itself. “ I am not informing you of your rankings to tell you to do better. Nor should you take this a chance to slack off.” He smiled as Harry claimed he would never. “ Good. I should also mention, and while I cannot tell you of your fellow student rankings, each of your little study group have found themselves in the top twenty.” The man’s face radiated with joy. “ I just want to tell you how proud I am and that your parents would be so happy.” He winked at harry. “ I also know that a rather dour Potions master we know is also proud of you.” Harry’s cheeks pinkened. 

Professor Flitwick continued to praise Harry, while also giving him a bit of constructive criticism concerning his Charms essays, claiming there was always room for growth.

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The final first of March was not a good one for Harry, and he truly cursed his luck. Harry had received his first real detention. He did not consider any of the detentions from Sev to be real, seeing as he never actually did anything wrong to earn them, nor was he punished.

The worst bit was that he wasn’t even in the wrong. He had unfortunately come across Ron and Heir Malfoy yelling at each other in a hall. Instead of going for help, Harry had decided to try and stop them, especially as Ron drew his wand. Unfortunately it was at that point, with Harry between the pair, and both of them holding out their wands, that the Headmaster stumbled upon them. He had instantly issued all three of them a detention for fighting in the halls. Even after several people claimed Harry had only tried to stop them, the Headmaster refused to budge. Professor Flitwick was also unable to remove the detention, as the Headmaster argued it was his prerogative. 

It was how the three of them found themselves being led by Mr. Filch to Hagrid’s hut. Apparently there was something harming the unicorns, and the Headmaster felt that three First Years along with a man who couldn’t use magic were the best possible team to solve it.

Mr. Filch offered Harry an apology calling him a good lad and informing him that he knew he did not deserve this detention. He glared at the other two though as he left them in Hagrid’s hands.

Hagrid had then informed them that they would be splitting up, with Ron going with him and Harry going with Heir Malfoy to follow Fang, Hagrid’s dog. Heir Malfoy spent much of the time complaining, and it was only as Harry stopped in front of him, and caused the blonde boy to walk into him that he stopped. 

“What’s the meaning of this?” He demanded, only for Harry to cover his mouth and tell him to shut up. “What?” The blonde boy responded angrily, stopping as he saw what Harry was pointing to. Ahead of them was a dark figure, meaning over a clearly dead unicorn. Even with the distance and the dim light, the boys could see the figure was eating something. 

Heir Malfoy started to walk backwards, and Harry cringed as the other boy stepped on a twig, the cracking echoing and catching the attention of the figure. It turned and hissed at them. Harry flinched and glanced quickly around to try and find an escape. The pair slowly backed up as the creature made its way slowly towards them, until Heir Malfoy stifled out a cry, and Harry turned to see that they were now backed up against the trunk of a giant tree. 

The creature before them let out a rather cruel sounding laugh, and Harry looked back at it as it rose off the ground and flew at them. Harry could blame the dim light, but he could have sworn he saw vines and branches trying to stop the monster. Heir Malfoy let out a yelp, and wrapped his arms around Harry causing them both to fall backwards, and into what Harry realized was the inside of the tree, the bark closed up after them, leaving just a sliver for Harry to peek out of.

“Great not the tree is trying to eat us.” Heir Malfoy muttered.

Harry really could not see much, however he heard plenty. The monster let out an angry hiss again and the sound of hooves confused Harry, before an odd tang sound echoed about, and then a loud _thunk_ followed by further hissing. 

Silence then took over before a voice called out. “ You may release them now.” The tree complied, opening up and allowing them to escape, with Harry reaching out to help Heir Malfoy stand. They found themselves standing before a centaur, which explained the hooves sound, holding a bow, explaining the tang. He introduced himself as Firenze, and told the boys how the Forest had informed him to look up at the Stars, who had then led him to their aid. He explained that the blood of the unicorn unwillingly given would curse the creature and that they were safe for now. 

Hagrid came out of the woods, brandishing his own crossbow, only putting it down as he saw Firenze. Finally after much complaining on Heir Malfoy and Ron’s part, Hagrid bid the centaur farewell, with Harry thanking him again, earning him a pondering look from Firenze.

The five of them left the centaur in the Forest, and Hagrid claimed their mission was a success, earning matching glares from Harry and Heir Malfoy, which caused Ron to flinch. Mr. Filch was back at the hut, and informed them he would escort them all back to the Dorms. Harry was the last, and Mr. Filch once more apologized, while Mrs. Norris demanded Harry to pet her. Eventually they made it back to the Ravenclaw Tower and Harry bid the pair a good night before he found himself in his room, ignoring Blaise’s questions and falling asleep clothing and all.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	32. Chapter 32: Severus Is Stressed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a bit of anxiety on the part of Harry in this chapter, manifesting as anger and sobbing again. It happens towards the end after his talk with Severus.

Chapter 32:

Severus was altogether not having a good time. It had all started upon his return to Hogwarts. Even with the excuse that he had spent Yule with his former Mentor and the acknowledgement that the Blessing of Silence had been evoked, Albus still interrogated Severus about his Holiday. The man had quite literally become unbearable to deal with.

Severus had at first believed that Albus had suspicions of him spending Yule with Harry, however the man himself gave Severus the proof he needed to know that the Headmaster was mostly concerned that his ‘puppet spy’ had not been within his reach for over two weeks. Still, it was irksome to be called into his office, like a misbehaved child almost daily for these ‘friendly chats’.

One such chat was conveniently scheduled at a time when the Headmaster had also scheduled a discussion with Harry. Severus was in the middle of denying once again that he had met up with some of his ‘old’ crowd when the door had opened, and Harry had stepped in, shocking the Potions Master quite a bit, causing him to wonder what the boy had heard. The gleam in Albus’ eyes led Severus to believe the man had wanted Harry to hear about his checkered past, and he turned to scowl at the meddling fool. Severus was happy to note that Harry had not come alone and that Filius happily followed him into the Headmaster’s office, which had, much to Severus’ joy, removed the glint in the old man’s eyes.

“Harry, my boy.” Albus ignored the glare that said boy gave him, while Severus noted how similar Harry’s glare was to his own. A quick look at Filius, confirmed that the small man also saw the similarities, and his smirk said it all it could to Severus. “ I had wondered when you would come and visit!”

“ It’s not really a visit, Headmaster, when you summon me yourself.” Harry gave the old man an unenthused look.

“Yes, well, I am just happy you took some time of what I can only assume to be a busy time in your school year, to come and visit me.” His innocent grandfather smile at its strongest.

“As you said Sir, I am quite busy with my studying, and I have a scheduled study group soon.” He gave the man his most innocent smile “ Please don’t take it the wrong way when I ask what you needed from me.”

“Ah, yes of course.” Albus smiled, pulling out a large wrapped object. “ I had meant to give this to you for Christmas.” He ignored the dark look that flitted over Harry’s face. “ In fact, I had even sent it off to your home, only for it to be returned with a letter from your Uncle claiming you had not spent the Holidays with your family.” He admonished Harry. “ I thought we had reached an agreement, and my boy, I do not enjoy being lied to. You promised you would not leave your Aunt’s home. I had thought I explained how unsafe anywhere else would be for you.”

Severus watched as the gears turned in Harry’s head, and he would never admit how proud he was as Harry maneuvered out of the trap that the Headmaster had attempted to place him in.

“Well Headmaster, I will admit that I did not lie. I had told you that I would be spending the Holidays at my Aunt’s house, which I did. “ Harry thought a bit more. “ I can also promise you I was well protected where I was as well.”

Albus stared at him, and Severus watched as Harry’s eyes remained unfocused, not making eye contact with the Headmaster at all. Having not informed Harry of the Headmaster’s ability to graze another person’s thoughts, Severus intended to ask Harry about it later. “ Fair enough, but perhaps you can tell me how you traveled?” Albus stared intently at Harry. “My sources at the Ministry confirmed that you had not used the floo system or portkeyed away.”

Harry barely passed a glance at Severus, who gave him a minute nod. It wouldn’t do not to give this information to the Headmaster, as the man would chase down the answer and possibly dig up something that they would not wish him to come across. 

“I did in fact use a portkey Sir. A French one though.” 

“Harry, I would have hoped you were smart enough to not accept a Portkey from a stranger.” He admonished the boy. 

“The man was a stranger. In fact Sir, you were the one that introduced us.” Harry replied. “ Also the portkey did not take me out of Britain, Sir, so I did follow your rule.”

The Headmaster made to speak again, but thankfully Filius interrupted. “ Perhaps, it would be best to move on. We seem to have gotten off topic.”

“Quite right, Professor, quite right.” He turned back to Harry and motioned from him to open the gift. 

Harry hesitated a moment, and Severus felt the slight pop in his ears that he had come to associate with Harry’s magic flaring up. A quick look at Albus and Filius, and Severus noted that while the Headmaster seemed to not acknowledge it, Filius was giving Harry a strange look.

Harry opened the package, revealing a large piece of cloth that sent a chill down Severus’ spine. He glared daggers into the side of the Headmaster’s hand, as Harry lifted the cloth, revealing itself to be a cloak.

Harry couldn’t help but let out a quiet  _ oh _ as he found half his body had vanished as the cloak draped over it.

“You are giving the boy an invisibility cloak!” Severus hissed at Albus. “ Is he not enough like his father that you would attempt to give the brat free reign of the Castle?”

“ Professor Snape, it is merely an invisibility cloak.” He tried to asway the man’s anger. “ It is not like Harry could use it to wreak havoc on everyone.” He positively beamed as Harry found the note he had attached to it.

The trio of Professors watched as Harry read it, and not a single one of them missed the flight of anger that passed over his face.

“ It’s not really a Gift, Professor.” Harry spoke to Severus. “ Seeing as the Headmaster did not own it to begin with.” He turned his head eyes to the man mentioned, his grip tightening on the cloak. “ It’s more like returning something to its rightful owner, I think.” 

“My boy, whatever do you mean?” Clearly, he wasn’t expecting this kind of response.

“Well your note clearly states this is a Potter Heirloom.” A slight hiss from one of the Headmaster Portraits drew Severus’ attention and he watched a Phineas Black begin to glare daggers at the current Headmaster. “ Which means that you aren’t gifting me anything. Just returning the cloak to where it belongs.” 

“Yes, I suppose one could indeed see it that way.” Severus watched as another attempt to endear the Headmaster to Harry failed spectacularly. “ Still, I would hope you appreciate the effort I took in keeping it safe until it was returned to you.” 

Harry glanced around the room, and Severus noting as the boy's eyes settling on a handful of books as well as a few of the Headmaster’s artifacts. “ I can.” Harry admitted. “ But it also makes me wonder if you have any other Family Heirlooms of mine in your possession.”

“I honestly can say, I have no idea, my boy.” Albus defended himself. Silence rang in the room, with the quiet calls of a baby Fawkes, who clearly was unhappy with something.

“If that is all Headmaster, my study group begins shortly.” When his question garnered no response, he dipped his head to the Headmaster and Severus, before leaving, with Filius in tow.

The silence persisted before Severus took advantage of Albus’ confusion at having his plan failed to make his escape as well. He was still concerned over the cloak and how it would entice Harry to sneak out at night and explore where he would not be allowed otherwise. It was only after a quick conversation with Filius, who had admitted he had placed a fail safe on the Raven who guarded the entrance to the Common Room, to alert him any time the door was opened after curfew. It did comfort Severus a bit.

His comfort was short lived unfortunately, as the next thing he knew, Harry was in the Hospital wing due to a mishap during his flying lessons. Although, if the rumours were to be trusted, and Severus had no doubt they were truthful, as Harry himself told him about how the broom seemed to come alive with the pure intent of throwing the boy to the ground. Albus had been no help, merely passing the moment off as a defective broom, a shine in his eyes. Still Severus, with the aid of Filius and Rolanda, who claimed it was her reputation as a flight instructor to check each broom before hand and thusly blamed herself for the incident, Severus investigated, unfortunately there was only a whiff of Corrupted Magic, as Harry had told him, and the Magical Signature was destroyed. Rolanda had been pleased that the incident was not her fault, until Severus had cruelly reminded her that a First Year was still injured even if the fault could not land on her. She had decided to postpone anymore lessons, earning her the dislike of much of the First Years, however safety had become her first concern.

Of course that wouldn't be the end to the poor man’s plight! No of course, Harry, though no fault of his own of course, had to go ahead and inform him and Filius of how the Weasel Twins, of all the students in the damn Castle, had managed to bypass the Headmaster’s Age line. He had only finished a conversation where Filius was happily filling Severus in on Harry’s newfound ranking amongst the First Years, and all the man wanted to do was celebrate with Harry. But no, no he was off hunting the Twin Terrors.

Honestly, it was almost like they were somehow two steps ahead of him. He had heavily intimidated several Gryffindors into admitting their location several times, only for each time the room they were supposed to be in being empty. 

Eventually Severus had decided to pull his ace card, and found Minerva. He had at first not wanted to bring the woman in, however he soon realized between the rumours circulating, and Filius already being aware, it was only a matter of time that the Scotswoman would take matters into her own hands.

He knocked on her office door, entering when she sternly called for him to enter, softening her tone as she realized it was him and not a student. 

“I don’t suppose you have heard the rumours concerning the Weasley Twins?” Severus started immediately upon entering.

“ The toilet seats? “ She pursed her lips. “ Unfortunately true. Thankfully Argus has in fact discovered the abandoned room they were keeping them.” She let out a sigh. “ Still at least five seats have not been recovered. I also had planned to ask Filius to check them for pranks or spells.” How the Twins had managed to steal over eighty-five toilet seats in a matter of minutes, she would never know.

“Not the seats.” He paused. “ Thee left my Dungeons alone?” He had not received any reports from his Snakes.

“It was just about the only place they had not taken them from.” 

Severus only took that information, and filed it away. “Their punishment?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot actually prove it was them.” She let out an even more annoyed sigh. “ They were in my classroom when it happened! It is only from words myself and some of the other Professors have heard in the Halls that even lets me suspect them, and I frankly, have no possible idea how they did it!”

Severus felt great sympathy for her plight, however he could not help but feel a sense of intrigue at the problem as well. He was almost tempted to offer his assistance, when he remembered her had come to her for a reason. 

“Actually, I have come here concerning a worse rumour, if it is at all possible.” His tone, instantly commandeering her entire attention.

“What now?”

“It seems that the Twin Terrors have somehow managed to outwit Albus’ Age Line, and are now filling other students’ heads with stories of a certain three headed monster.”

He watched as her face paled. “Have the rumours been confirmed?” She clearly hoped that they were not, but Severus could only nod. “ Why?” She seemed to reach her breaking point, before suddenly straightening her spine. “ I suppose you wish to interrogate them and have not been able to find them yourself?” She gave him a sly smirk. “ Of course they cannot refuse a summons. Why did you not call them to your office?”

“ And risk them being led astray in the Dungeons? I think not.” 

“Fair enough, I suppose.” She wrote something on a piece of parchment, Transfigured it into a cat, and watched as it rushed out of her office.” It should be a moment. Coffee?” Knowing his preference.

Their conversations turned to their students of course, and eventually landed on Harry, with Minerva comparing him to his parents in a positive light, and Severus was forced to renounce all of his achievements. He found it harder and harder to belittle Harry even to others, and he was only too happy to be interrupted mid rant as the Weasley Twins clamored in, claiming their seats like it was their office and not their Head of House. They did flinch under Severus’ glare though, shuffling into more respectful positions.

“Boys, Professor Snape here is interested in some rumours pertaining to some of your antics.” Minerva opened the way for Severus to speak.

“ No matter what Flint might say, we did not charm all his clothes to turn into dresses whenever he is around Oliver.” Weasley Twin One immediately blurted out, earning a scowl from Weasley Twin Two.

“While very much illuminating, and we shall be circling back to that at a later time, I am more interested in the rumours concerning the pair of you, a certain third floor, and a large creature with three heads.” His stare demanded answers. Still the pair yammered on with denials, and Severus pinched the bridge of his nose.

Finally after a few more weak attempts, Severus could take no more.” Weasleys, I am aware that the rumours are not in fact rumours, and if you do not wish to be in detention with me until you graduate, you shall tell us exactly how you have gotten around the Headmaster’s Age Line.”

“What Age Line?” Weasley Twin Once asked, earning him a nudge in the ribs from Weasley Twin Two. “ Listen, Gred, they already know! It’s not like we can talk our way out of this.”

They stared each other down, until Weasley Twin Two sighed before speaking. “We honestly have to idea about the Age Line.” He glanced at Weasley Twin One, before continuing. “ If you mean the blue flames that block the staircase up to the third floor, it fizzles out each time we went up there.”

Severus and Minerva continued to interrogate the Twins, and Severus gleefully issued them a weeks worth of detention for the prank on Flint, while Minerva took two-hundred points from Gryffindor much to the Pairs despair, only quieting as she threatened them with being removed from the Quidditch team, signaling to them how serious she was. 

After they had left, Minerva joined Severus, refusing to be left behind as Severus made to investigate the third floor. Unsurprisingly, Filius was already there, however he was conversing with Pomona and Argus. 

“Ah, welcome, welcome.” Filius greeted them as soon as he saw them. “ I suppose you learned what you could from the Twins?” 

“Yes, it seems the Age Line disappeared for them each time.” Minerva responded, as Severus stepped away from them to cast his own set of detection charms on the Age Line in question. After a few more waves of his wand her turned back to the other Professors.

“Is it safe to assume you have found the same thing I had?” Filius asked.

“The fact that there are exceptions placed into it?”

“Precisely.”

“What do you mean by exceptions?” Pomona asked. Severus looked to Filius to speak.

“It would seem that the Age Line would restrict all persons under the age of twenty-five from gaining entrance into the third floor. All that is except for specific signatures, such as the Weasley Twins.” The short man grimaced.

“Do we know if it is just the Weasley Twins?” Pomona asked, concern growing for the students.

“Unfortunately, short of parading every single student here, there is no way to be certain who is exempted.” Severus could make a few educated guesses however.

Minerva took a moment to think. “ Filius there is no way to fill in the gaps?” The man frowned and shook his head. “ Well then, I think it is important that we all check on our own protections.” She spoke next to Argus as the other Pomona and Filius made their way up the stairs. “Argus, could you please increase your patrols here?”

“Yes, ma’am.’ He saluted her, before placing Mrs. Norris on the ground, ready to begin his prowling.

“Severus, what do you think he means by doing this?”

“I am afraid I only have theories, and not a single one actually makes sense.” He scowled. “It is almost as if he intended for a handful of students to attempt to get the Stone.”

“It’s what I’m afraid of.” She paused to glance at the blue flames. “ we should check our protections as well.”

It took some time, but they all reconvened at the foot of the stairs, each relieved that the failsafes, meant to keep any students that somehow got into their rooms from harm, were still in place, merely trapping them instead of hurting an actual intruder. Filius could note no gaps in their enchantments such that the Age Line contained. Still they all left quite a bit unsettled.

  
  


The small celebration Severus had for Harry went off without a hitch, or rather as little as one could be. Dingly had somehow known that Severus was preparing it for Harry, and had made all of Harry’s favourite desserts, which had led to Ebony pouting, and giving Harry a large assortment of chocolates and other sweets. Harry for his part, enjoyed everything and seemed to relish under the glow of Severus’ praise. He spent quite a bit of time talking to Sands, allowing Severus to grade some papers. It was an altogether decent night for the pair.

Of course it was ruined when the Headmaster decided to send his Godson, the Weasley Brat and Harry into the Forbidden Forest at night with Hagrid of all people! Of course with Harry’s luck he had to be the one to actually discover what was causing the deaths of the Unicorns, and of course, Poppy demanded to keep Harry and his Godson overnight. Severus had brought with him his own supply of Dreamless sleep, and still he spent the night between the two boys, waiting for either of them to wake up screaming, which had happened to Draco. Harry whimpered in his sleep, but otherwise remained asleep. 

Severus had sent a missive to Lucius, who had sent Albus a Howler at breakfast the next morning, causing quite a scene, and letting the man know he was on thin ice. It was a slap on the wrist and Albus knew it.

Still the worst thing to happen to Severus was the dreaded conversation he would be having with Harry, concerning hi- concerning Petunia and Vernon. To be honest, he knew that Harry would be mad at him for withholding information from him, but he had hoped to have a clearer picture and more information. 

Now however he had come to a dead end, and only a handful of suspicions. He had a friend in the Department of Mysteries that would be more than happy to help him, however he felt it was time to ask Harry his opinions. It was his life that would be affected. 

Issuing a detention had been easy enough, and Severus found himself looking at Harry in his room as Harry waited for Severus to speak.

“Sev?” Harry finally broke the silence, squirming a bit in his seat.

The man sighed. “ We have a few things to discuss.” He saw the flinch from the boy. “ Nothing you did wrong, I promise. This time though, I believe I am the one in error.”

Harry stiffen in his chair and put on his calm mask before asking Severus to speak.

“This concerns yo- Petunia.” Severus hesitated for a bi before continuing. “I am sure you remember that We spent much of August at the Leaky Cauldron?” a nod from Harry. “ That was because, “ He paused to take a deep breath,” Petunia spent much of that time in the Hospital after being bitten by Saffron.” Harry remained silent, paling a bit. “To be fair, the Muggle doctors were not able to do much, and it was only at the Headmaster’s word, that a Healer took her case.” 

“What happened to her?” His voice cracked a bit.

“ It would seem that for all intents and purposes Petunia Evans nee Dursley was in fact born a Squib, but somehow, Saffron’s venom affected her core.” He gazed over at Harry, trying to gauge his response. “It would seem that because of that interaction. Petunia’s magic was unlocked and she is as of now a Witch.” 

“What does that mean for me?” Harry asked as his head clearly thought up the worst case scenarios. 

“ For now? Nothing. The Headmaster wishes to keep this a secret.” Severus frowned, remembering how the man had Obliviated the Healer. “ He does not truly seem concerned with anything. However as you have claimed there is Corrupted Magic at Number 4 and I have noticed it myself, I have been investigating on my own.” He grimaced as he saw the look Harry was giving him. “Unfortunately, I believe I’ve reached my limit. From what I’ve been able to figure out, she’s becoming unstable. She wanted your wand because he has very little control over the magic within her and it’s hurting her.” He shivered again as Harry’s magic reached out. “ I think he’s becoming too much of a danger. I have someone I would like to talk to. She’d be better able to figure out how the venom affected Petunia’s core as well as perhaps helping Petunia, or at least making her less dangerous to you.”

That had been too far for Harry apparently, as his magic shattered several glass objects around the room.

“You knew she was dangerous?” Harry demanded. “ Is that why you gave me this necklace?” He ripped the necklace away from him. “ You just let me go back there knowing she would try and hurt me?” His magic ripped things off of Severus’ shelves, and still the man did nothing, knowing he had deserved it. He let Harry blow off more steam until he slowly walked over to Harry. 

“I am sorry, Harry.” He knew it meant very little to the hurt the boy was feeling. “ At the time I had no reason to believe you were in danger. The necklace was a failsafe that I did not actually expect you to need.” He struggled to pull the boy into his arms, earning only resistance in the form of his magic pushing against him. “Harry, I would never put you in harm’s way if I could help it.” A dam seemed to give way, and Harry’s anger melted away, replaced with large tears and body shaking sobs. Severus found himself in a rather commonplace position for them recently, where he held a sobbing Harry. All he could do was rock him gently, and apologize.

It seemed to take Harry a much longer time to calm down this time, perhaps because he had not given him a Calm Draught, but he had feared they were both becoming far too reliant on them. Eventually Harry apologized, fixing what he could on his own.

“What do you want to talk to your friend about?” He whispered, drinking an ice cold cup of milk that Ebony brought him.

“ I wish to first, let her test the venom you had given me for Yule.” He paused to make sure he was not upsetting the boy further. “ Then I would have her swear an Oath to not reveal anything she learns from this to use it against you or myself. I have hope that she will find a way to nullify the threat Petunia places upon you.”

“But you don’t think the Oath is necessary?” Harry asked, surprising him.

“I do not, I have quite literally put my life in this woman’s hands and vice versa.” The looked Harry in the eye. “ Still I would never take any chances when it comes to your safety and wellbeing.”

Harry looked off into the distance for a while before nodding. “Give her the venom, and get the Oath please.” He smiled at the man. “ Perhaps Saffron will give you some more, when she forgives you.” This was Severus only warning before Saffron slipped out from under his door, glaring daggers at him and hissing to Harry. She wrapped herself around him, and refused to let go, even as Harry went to hug Severus a goodnight and leave. He was almost certain she purposely placed her head at his throat when they hugged, and he barely held the flinch in when her tongue flicked out and scented him.

After Harry left, Severus pulled out the firewhiskey and drank himself to sleep, only happy to know it was the weekend and he had plenty of Hangover potions in the morning. Still the next morning sobered him up immediately, after his friend agreed to meet with him for lunch.

It was how he found himself in a private room at the Three Broomsticks, waiting impatiently. He had expected some sort of an entrance from his friend, and so he was not surprised when a monotonous female voice spoke from behind him.

“Well, Severus what do you need done?” He turned to see his friend in full Unspeakable garb: Grey wizarding robes, with a long hood that covered much of her face, white gloves covered her hands as well.

“The full outfit?” Severus raised an eyebrow.

“You called for me in my capacity as an Unspeakable.” she tonelessly replied.

“I did, Unspeakable Eltanin.” He realized it would go smoother if he complied with her whims. He withdrew the vial of venom and placed it on the table between them.

“What is that?” He smiled as he realized he had her interest.

“I will tell you, but first I need an Oath, Unspeakable.” He gave her a hard stare. “ You must promise to not reveal anything you have learned from this vial, as well as the subject and her family to anyone but myself.” He paused as she let the information sink in.

“This is that important to you?” 

“It is.”

She paused, and Severus could see her thinking, noticing the tapping of her fingers. Finally she accepted and Severus felt the Oath settle on them both.

“This is venom from an Occamy that-” He raised his hand to stop the interruption.”- apparently unlocked the magic of a Squib.” He told her everything he could possibly think would aid her, answering any questions she felt pertinent to ask.

“What is the goal and the time frame?” She asked after all other questions had been exhausted.

“I want the former Squib to be harmless.” He claimed, dead would be better but that would open a can of worms he wasn’t sure he could deal with. “ As for the time frame, I would like it to be figured out before the summer, however I doubt that to be the case.” He frowned. “ I feel perhaps as soon as possible is the best I can ask for.”

She pocketed the vial and nodded. “ Would you be able to get me more of the venom should I need it?”

“Hopefully.” He shivered at the memory of Saffron. “But I would prefer not to have to get it.”

Unspeakable Eltanin rose, placing a hand on his shoulder as she walked by. “ I will do all I can my friend.” Before she disappeared leaving Severus alone with his thoughts and some more firewhiskey. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I am writing too many angry - into- crying Harry, but I am basing his moods as how my anxiety manifests and affects me so I don't know. 
> 
> Also I am having too much fun with Astrology and I really can't wait until book three which will center around the Black Family and all the Astrology :D


	33. Chapter 33: When and When Not to Sleep

Harry gave it a full week before he forgave Sev. It would probably have been soon, as Harry found himself no longer angry with the man, but Saffron refused to let him talk to Sev sooner. She was quite angry with him, only telling Harry he was in charge of protecting Harry while she couldn’t. Harry found himself having to convince her that Sev did his best, with her only commenting it wasn’t too late to let her bite the Potions Master.

Sev actually seemed quite relieved when Harry made his way into the man’s office on the Friday after classes. They shared a quiet meal, and Sev described his conversation with the Unspeakable. The idea of an entire Department in the Ministry where everyone used code names and did secret experiments and all the amount of hidden knowledge intrigued Harry. Sev did try to caution him about how unstable their experiments were and that it would be quite dangerous, but it did little to change Harry’s opinion. 

Classes went on, and Saffron who claimed the weather no suited her, claimed his shoulders as hers. She refused to remain in his dorm now and hissed words that would have earned Harry a smack to the back of the head if he said them in front of Sev, when he suggested she stay in his school bag. He had no idea how Professor Sprout knew, but she continued to deny the snake access to her Greenhouses and Harry had to convince Saffron to explore whenever he had Herbology. Sev, also refused to let her in his classrooms and offered to put her in Sands terrarium.

She had hissed at him and threatened to bite him again. Harry couldn’t help but laugh, remembering exactly why she did not wish to share any space with the Boomslang.

***

_ “~Come on, Sev gave him to me.~”  _ Harry hissed to Saffron, who was being incredibly difficult. “ _ ~He’s really quiet. I promise he won’t bother you too much.~”  _ Sands was in fact a quiet snake, only talking to Harry when he had something to say. Sands was more than willing to answer any of Harry’s questions, but he was definitely more interested in watching and listening than speaking.

It had taken some convincing and quite a bit of bribing with fresh mice, before Saffron Begrudgingly allowed Harry to take her to meet Sands.

“ _ ~Sand! I have someone I want you to meet.~”  _ Harry informed the Boomslang, gently pulling the little snake out and resting him on the nearby desk.

“ _ ~Did they bring me food?~”  _ Sand questioned, flicking his tongue out to scent for any treats.

“ _ ~No I’m sorry, buy maybe she will hunt for you next time?~”  _ Harry might have been a bit too optimistic, especially as Saffron hissed out a response almost immediately.

“ _ ~He can hunt for himself! I hunt only for myself.~” _

Her hissing had caught the attention of Sands, and the little snake tilted his head and sent out tentative hiss, to which Saffron refused to respond to.

“ _ ~Saffron, be nice.~”  _ He gently pulled her off his neck and out of her hiding spot, before placing her besides Sands. Harry was actually surprised at the differences between them, ignoring the fact that Saffron had grown out more red feathers and had well developed wings at this point, Saffron was a iridescent purple, while Sands was a more murky brown. Harry had also not realized how large Saffron had gotten, only now noticing as she was more than three times the size of Sands, dwarfing the Boomslang.

The two snakes continued to stare at each other, and Harry thought that perhaps this would actually go well. He was proven wrong as Sands spoke up. “ _ ~Mama.~”  _ Causing Saffron to hiss at him, refusing the title and demanding he stop calling her that.

Sands refused, and slithered his way over to her chanting ‘ _ ~Mama, mama, mama.~”  _ Harry for his part had fallen to the floor, clutching his stomach as he could not stop laughing. Tears were streaming out of his eyes as Sands continued to call out to Saffron who had decided to try and flee the little menace.

Harry would have been proud and amazed as She used her wings for the first time, to fly up onto the chandelier above to escape from Sands. Thankfully Sands was there to compliment her.

“ _ ~Mama is so amazing. She can fly.~”  _ He rose up as high as he could, swaying a bit as he continued to stare up at his ‘Mama’. “ _ ~ Mama is so pretty.~” _

And that was what Sev had walked into; a rather large angry Occamy hanging from his chandelier, hissing angrily at the much smaller snake below, who was swaying and hissing himself, all while Harry rolled around on the floor laughing himself to death.

***

Still Saffron was more than content to stay with Harry during the entire day. She even had her favorite classes, which were Charms and Transfiguration. She thought that Professor Flitwick was quite entertaining, and she quite enjoyed how magic could change things into other things, and demanded that Harry learn how to make things she wanted as soon as possible.

She did however hate Defense, if not for the same reason that much of the students did. She cared very little for Professor Quirrell's stutter, but it was the feeling of the room that bothered her. She told Harry as much, who also agreed that there was something off in the room. There wasn't much either of them could do, as Harry had already told Sev, who claims he was investigating. There was a rumor that a Fifth Year saw Sev bully and threaten the Defense Professor, but Harry was unsure how much of that was true as the same Fifth Year claimed he saw a dragon in the Forbidden Forest 

She made Harry promise that he would run out of the room if she felt the unknown feeling in the room became hostile, and Harry was more than willing to go, especially if the unsettling magic grew worse.

Saffron remained with Harry up until the Spring Break. Harry had decided that he was not going to go back to Potter Manor, and had turned down the offer from his Aunts to come visit them. Most of his friends had decided to stay as well, and after much complaining from Blaise and surprisingly Neville, Harry convinced them all to do their homework at the beginning, leaving much of the rest of the Holiday to do as they pleased. 

This mostly included them enjoying the mild weather outside and sitting by the lake. Theo and Harry also took the time to explore more of the books that were in their Study and Harry was more than happy to find a copy of  Hogwarts: A History The Third Edition.  After teaching Theo how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Harry one and claimed the book as his prize. He still let Theo read it, but Harry was happy to add it to his collection.

  
  


The Holiday flew by for the boys, and before they knew it, classes were back in session. It also meant that once again the Professors decided to work their students hardier. Theo claimed it was that they realized how close the need of the year was and how much they needed to know.

“Most of the Professors have been teaching for years though.” Blaise attempted to disprove the Slytherin's theory. “ Wouldn’t they be better prepared?”

“No, because there are too many variables. What if they have a year where the students need more instruction? Or if there is suddenly a plague and they spend half the year in the Infirmary?” Theo responded.

“But what does that have to do with this year? None of that happened.” Blaise gave him a smug smile, only to frown as Theo ranted about all the possible reasons why the Professors would somehow be behind in their education.

He had personally asked Sev, who had given Harry his best smirk before responding. “ The end of the year tends to make some students more-” he interrupted himself to think of the proper word, “-energetic. We, as Professors, have learned it is best to temper that energy with work.” 

After telling this to both Blaise and Theo, he was promptly ignored by both, as Blaise claimed it was too absurd and they were back to arguing about how the Moon cycle very much could interfere with how well students learn and thus holding up the Professors.

With more work both in classes as well as outside of them with all the homework they were assigned, Harry soon found himself exhausted. But as it turned out it was not just him. As the rest of April gave way to May, Harry noticed that much of his fellow First Years were little more than zombies. It took a while, but Harry also noticed that it was affecting the Second Years as well. 

Many of the upperclassmen called them out for not being able to handle school, laughing as the young children all seemed on the verge of falling asleep at any moment. The Professors were concerned, and while they attempted to asway and worry from the younger Years by claiming it is much the same every year, It was clear to Harry and quite a few it was in fact worrisome.

There wasn’t much anyone could do unfortunately, and while the younger students grew more and more tired and Madam Pomfrey and Sev would make and distribute Pepper- Ups to those that truly needed it. Harry had unfortunately been one of them, being given a rather diluted one almost daily.

Severus, along with the other Professors had all become quite concerned, with Minerva trying to convince Albus that perhaps it was time to bring in a specialist, as Poppy claimed there was nothing she could do. 

“Magical exhaustion, the lot of them.” She had exclaimed. “ Never seen this before. Not on this level.”

“Albus we need a Specialist!” Minerva repeated, like she had at every emergency staff meeting they had since the students returned from their Holiday in April. “I have already cancelled three of my classes as the students can barely remain awake!”

“I am sure it is nothing.” Albus tried to pacify her. His eyes glittering. “ Yes, I do believe that something happened like this many years ago.” He gave them all a look with a gentle smile. “ If I remember correctly, it solved itself, and all of the students were perfectly fine.”

Severus had shook his head, and planned to spend more time making Pepper-ups. He too had cancelled classes, as falling asleep near an open fire and a boiling potion was a sure fire way to die a rather uncomfortable death.

He left that meeting more annoyed and anxious than he had in awhile, his fear and worry over Harry as well as the other First and Second Years, at the forethought of his mind. He sighed, muttering under his breath about an ignorant and dawdling old fool.

It was in his office that he found Harry sleeping on a poorly transfigured couch. While it had ways to go, Severus was still rather impressed that the legs were at least the same height this time. Saffron had apparently been waiting for him, as she gave him a short glare for hissing loudly into Harry’s ear and flicking her tongue into it.

The boy woke quickly, flicking the snake away from his ear and grumbled a bit. It took a moment for him to wake up fully and he finally noticed Severus.

“Oh, Good morning.”

“It’s midafternoon Harry.”

“Oh, well good afternoon then.” he let out a rather deep yawn. Saffron hissed at him, and Harry responded quietly and more slowly than he usually did.

“ She wants me to tell you something.” Harry yawned again.

Severus waited a moment before asking the exhausted First Year what she wanted him to know.

“ Oh sorry.” Harry gave him a look. “ I forget you can’t understand her.” He yawned a third time, and attempted to make himself more comfortable on the couch. “ She wants me to mention that mine and Blaise’s Wards are being tested.”

“What do you mean Harry?”

“ Everyone morning, when Blaise and I wake up, we find that a layer of our Wards has been removed. It’s not always the same one as we reset them as best we can.” He yawned once more, closing his eyes. “ But it’s like they are testing each of them.” He soon succumbed to sleep, and Saffron gave him a shake of her head before she laid down on top of the boy, clearly guarding him.

Severus could only stare at the sleeping boy, completely unable to think. He at first believed it might just be a Sixth or Seventh Year attempting to prank them, but Severus highly doubted it. It soon became the greatest source of worry for him, and he found himself practically begging Filius in a note to come as soon as possible. He watched as the note flew off, before settling in his reading chair, lighting the fire and watching as Harry slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the short side, and I am sorry for that. I've spent much of the weekend in a rather persistent Anxiety Attack, and such had been taking my emergency anti-anxiety pill, which basically puts me to sleep. So long story short I've spent most of the weekend sleeping instead of writing and editing this one.
> 
> The good news, is while I am as exhausted as poor Harry is, I happy to note that we are reaching End Game here.


	34. Chapter 34: The Truth is Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, the ending is a bit much... Blood, gore, technically kidnapping, as well as Canon Character Death. It is between the _______. A summary is available in the end notes.

Chapter 34:

His conversation with Filius did little to silence his spy instincts that were screaming that something terrible was about to happen. Even with Filius informing him of all the precautions that were in place in the Ravenclaw Tower, found himself on edge.

" Counter to what everyone believes, the Raven closes access to everyone who is not a Ravenclaw just before curfew." Filius explained. " the Common Room and the students' Dorms have their own protections as well."

" Harry claimed that Blaise and himself had set their own Wards on their room and possessions." Severus pointed out, remembering how proud Harry had been when his Wards kept both Theo and Blaise from trying to gain access to his trunk. Filius gave the other man a rather Goblinesque smile.

" That is more of a test we give the First Years." Filius grinned. " It gives them a chance to see what they can do.” His smile only grew larger. “ Most of the time they solve the problem for themselves whereas some, like Heir Potter and Mr. Zabini, already have the knowledge and now have a chance to put that knowledge to the test.”

“What about those who lack in that aspect?” Severus inquired, rather interested in the workings of the Ravenclaw House.

“Research, my good man. We are not the ‘Smart’ House for no reason.” 

“And if they refuse, or are unable to perform what they have gathered?” He questioned further. “What of the Muggleborns who might not be even aware of Wards at all?”

“I find that it is the perfect excuse for the younger students to open up a dialogue with the older ones.” He paused a moment before he continued.” As for the Muggleborns, in all of my thirty years of doing this, not a single one has ever had a problem. They have been quite honestly the most driven when it comes to learning everything they can. Each year their Wards and whatever else they use become even more unique and creative than the year before. I’ve found that it is actually the Purebloods that tend to be the problem. They tend to rely on what is already known or discovered.” 

The smaller Professor began to recount several of his favourites; including one student who had somehow made a charm that created a large pair of red eyes the would follow anyone who attempted to break into her Dorm, a pair of Twins who had created a Ward that had intruders literally seeing double of everything, and the man’s personal favourite, one girl had made it so that anyone could enter her room, but trapped them from leaving as whenever they attempted to exit the door would lead them back into her room. It had caused quite a stir, and the only student to be trapped spent a bit of time in the Infirmary Wing, but still Filius had been most impressed.

It had also intrigued the Potions Master, but as he attempted to question Filius, the Charms Master only smirked, telling him to follow the Ravenclaw students and research it for himself.

Severus quietly cursed him before smirking to himself and realizing that he had his own little Ravenclaw who would be just as interested, if not more, in a Ward that would trap someone in a never ending room. His smirk quickly turned into a frown as he remembered that Harry was in fact the whole reason the two Professors were meeting.

“ Are there any additional Wards on Harry’s room?” 

“While his and Mr. Zabini’s Wards are impressive, it never hurts to have more.” The shorter Professor sobered up as the conversation turned. “The standard Wards are in place, and I’ve taken it upon myself to add a few of my own measures.” He tapped his fingers on his desk. “ I’ve also asked the Six and Seven Year Prefects to patrol the First Year halls. I didn't want to tip our hand that they are there for Heir Potter.”

Severus dipped his head in thanks. “ It pains me to know there is not much else we could do without the aid of the Headmaster."

"Yes, he does seem to be dragging his feet at the moment." Both Professors sat in silence for quite some time before Severus took his leave.

  
  


Unfortunately, the stress on the lives of the occupants of Hogwarts did not relent. Soon, whatever was affecting the First and Second Years took the Third Years as well. Still the Professors denied any issues to the students, wishing to temper any panic that might set it otherwise. Behind closed doors however, they themselves panicked, planning and hoping that something would give. 

During one meeting, after Minerva reported that a few Gryffindor Fourth Years were showing minor cases of Magical Exhaustion. It was at this point that Severus noticed Albus finally admitted that there seemed to be a problem.

  
  


" I feel I have made a grave error in handling our issue." Albus began. " I had hoped it would fade away, becoming one of Hogwarts Mysteries."

"That is no excuse Albus." Poppy glared at the man, causing several of the Professors to squirm under her gaze. " We have attempted to argue the seriousness of the situation for weeks now. I've been asking for a Specialist since the very first case."

The Headmaster rose his hands, silencing the irate woman. " I understand." He looked over all their heads, clearly lost in his own thoughts. "I had thought- No. It does not matter what I had thought. Now, however. It means that I must step up." 

"What do you plan to do, Albus?" Minerva was quietly clearly done with the man's secretive plans and plots.

" The Board of Governors are well aware of the situation, and have agreed that we are far too late in the year to close the to close the school. They have, however, asked for daily updates." He turned his attention to the Transfiguration Professor and the other Professors." I know I've asked a lot, but unfortunately that task must fall to you."

He remained impassive as several of the Professors began question why it would fall to them when it should clearly fall on his shoulders. 

"As you well know, I have friends all over the world." His eyes twinkled. " With the blessing of the Board, I have elected to personally reach out to them. I feel the matter is much too grave to risk letters being lost." 

He was stopped by the outcry from the Professors, several of them arguing that he would be leaving when he was needed.

" I feel, as does the Board, that I can do more to help the students with my connections." His tone broke no arguments. " I shall be leaving in a few days, and hope to be back with a solution by the end of the week." 

  
  


Severus' instincts were screaming that something would happen, and as the days with Albus away crawled by, Severus’ anxiety grew. He was not alone though as his fellow Professors shared uneasy looks in the halls. Argus had taken on a large part of patrolling the Castle, searching high and low nearly every night with Mrs. Norris. The paintings were also on high alert, watching everything and informing Minerva of any strange behaviors. 

Thankfully, with the exception of a few more Fourth Years, the unexplained magical exhaustion did not expand. A weak positive in light of the fact that the youngest students were barely able to stay awake long enough to attend classes and eat. A few had near permanent beds with Poppy, and Severus feared Harry was on his way to join them.

Severus remained vigilant, checking up on Harry and his Snakes each night. Severus had taken to remaining awake well into the night, fully expecting whatever was to happen would take place under the cover of night. 

After his fourth night away, Albus had sent Minerva a letter, claiming he believed to have found a solution and that he would be returning the next day. Severus cursed the man silent. His return would force their enemy’s hand. On the other hand, it meant that Severus could be more prepared. 

It had surprisingly enough, not taken much convincing on his part, to bring Filius, Pomona, and Minerva over to the idea that the magical exhaustion was in fact an attack. It was actually Pomona who added her suspicions that it was meant to distract them from guarding the Philosopher's Stone. It was also not difficult to convince them that Severus fully expected them to target the Stone that night. 

After calling in an emergency meeting after lunch. Minerva took charge, dictating strategy, and placing Professors in positions to try and stop whomever would be going after the Stone. 

Argus and Irma were to guard Albus’ Office. It contained several artifacts that could bypass the rooms that the Professor set up to guard the Stone. Sybill and Septima were to watch over the Towers, while Hagrid and Rolanda were to take the first and second floors. The rest of the staff were meant to protect the Dorms and students. Minerva had fretted over someone remaining guard on the third floor, but their main concern was their students and she could only hope that their traps would be enough.

Severus remained steady, wand in hand as he patrolled his Dungeons. He had found several older students in enclaves, and after taking far greater points than he had ever had, felt certain that his Snakes, and the handful of Gryffindors he had found would warn others not to test him that night. 

He was on his third cycle when the curse hit him. At first the man believed himself to be poisoned, as he staggered and he felt his legs no longer responding to him. He managed to lean against the nearby wall, struggling to fall slowly. His mind hazy, Severus attempted to figure out what was affecting him. Still as his body refused to respond, and his eyes closed against his will, the Potions Master realized that a Sleeping Curse had taken hold of him. Adrenaline flowed through him as he panicked, and he forced his eyes to open, and began to crawl. 

“I had feared you would be able to overpower the curse.” A raspy voice echoed from behind the struggling spy. “Far too much willpower for a mere Potions Master. Can you hear it, Severus? The silence? Everyone else in the Castle, even the paintings and the ghosts, all succumbed to the quiet.” Unbeknownst to Severus, the figure behind raised his wand, sending a silent spell at him. “ Sleep like the others, I shall deal with you later.” 

*************************************************************************************************************

Harry was not an idiot, as much as the Dursley’s would tell anyone who would listen. He was a Claw and he had quite easily figured out that the magical exhaustion that was affecting all of the younger students was not in fact a normal thing at Hogwarts. 

In fact most of his study group had agreed that it was highly suspicious. Still, after asking Professor after Professor and receiving their standard ‘ Nothing is wrong’ responses, Blaise demanded Harry ask Sev, who would never lie to him right?

“It is nothing you should concern yourself with.” Sev had responded.

“But Sev it is affecting me and my friends.”

“Myself and the other Professors are looking into it.” Sev looked directly at Harry. “ It is of some concern, but we are handling it.” Only Harry could feel that the man truly did not believe himself, and that truly frightened him. And when Harry found himself yawning or falling asleep more often than his friends, he saw the fear in Sev’s eyes.

His own exhaustion had led to him missing when the Second Years were affected as well as when it took the Third Years by storm and started with the Fourth Years. By then, Harry was barely awake during classes, surviving only on diluted Pepper ups, and asleep nearly as soon as he was back in his Dorms. How the boy managed to do his homework was anyone’s guess, with Blaise claiming the raven haired boy was not human.

When the Headmaster reported that he would be leaving for a short trip, and it was nothing to worry themselves over, Harry’s stomach turned with dread. He may not like or respect the Headmaster, but he knew that whatever was happening would only grow worse with the departure of the older Wizard. 

Of course, while the entire Castle was being cursed to fall asleep, Harry would be awake. To be fair, he had started the night asleep. It was the scent and feeling of Corrupt Magic that flowed into his and Blaise’s Dorm in the middle of the night that woke him up. He had attempted to wake up Blaise with very little success, and he struggled himself to remain awake. He called out to Saffron, but realized she was still out hunting. 

The creaking of the Dorm door opening had him pause and as he drew his wand, intent on hitting the intruder, he saw a red spell streak out of the figure’s wand, hitting him square in the chest. He soon joined the rest of the school in silence.

He missed being Levitated by the figure, who walked with the boy’s floating body through the halls. The boy slept through the summoning of a harp that put the Cerberus to sleep, and the purple flames that erupted out of the figure’s wand eating away at the Devil’s Snare, leaving nothing but the putrid smell of burnt vines and Corrupt Magic. He missed the spell the figure used to rip the wings off of the flying keys, or the curse that the figure threw at the opposing queen that rattled and destroyed the surrounding chest pieces, as well as the Cutting Curse that slayed the troll in one hit. 

He was also blissfully asleep when the figure gave out a truly wicked laugh as he destroyed the seven potions before him, and waved his wand at the fire blocking his path, making his way into the final chamber that contained a Mirror.

Harry did wake up when he was unceremoniously thrown to the ground, groaning as he hit his head. It took him a moment to truly wake up, and soon he had scrambled to his feet, searching his person for his wand.

“I’m afraid your wand was left behind, Mr. Potter.” A voice informed him from behind. Harry turned suddenly, gasping as his head showed him how much he appreciated the rapid movement. When his sight finally settled, Harry was stunned to find Professor Quirrell standing before him, his wand aimed at the small boy.

“Surprised to see me?” The thin, weak looking man grinned cruelly. “ No one even suspected me, except Snape, but well that man has always been far too paranoid.” He casually flicked his wand. “ Well, it didn’t quite save him today, now did it.” He gazed over at the boy who was clearly stunned. “ Are you that surprised it is me?”

" More that your stutter isn't actually real." Harry blurted out. " Now I owe Theo ten galleons." A sharp laugh drew his attention back to his kidnapper.

" You have to realize there is little concern in that? You don't think that after all the trouble I've been through to bring you here, that I was just going to let you go?" A cold laugh escaped from his mouth. " No Mr. Potter, I am afraid you shall not be leaving this chamber alive." 

Harry found himself slowly walking backwards, only stopping as he met up with one of the pillars surrounding the room. He chanced a glance to his side and saw there was nothing keeping him from escaping, well ignoring the giant wall of fire.

“Come now, Mr. Potter, if you help me and my associate, I can promise your end will be quick and painless.” Harry could hear a raspy voice mutter something, before the Professor muttered something back. “ Come now Potter!” He raised his wand to Harry, intending to curse him.

Harry quickly moved, believing it best to listen for now, and bide his time. He had tested his magic against the flames, and was comfortable in the thought that he could escape through the wall of flames unharmed, he just needed to find a good distraction for Quirrell. His willingness seemed to surprise his kidnapper, and Harry caught what the raspy voice said that time.

“He is plotting something.” 

“What should I do?” The Professor whispered.

“Watch him closely.”

“To the Mirror, Potter.” He pointed his wand at Harry again, prodding him to face the Mirror. 

The Mirror was clearly so much more than just a Mirror as Harry gazed into it. His magic sparked out causing Harry to instantly realize that the magic of the Mirror was to trap him, and he felt his own magic urging him to look away. Still his gaze remained on the scene the Mirror was showing to him. It at first was just him, standing in his pajamas, fire lighting up the background. 

But soon two figures sharpened into view, and Harry's breath was caught in his throat. Soon his parents stood behind him, resting a hand each on his shoulders. He subconsciously reached out to his mother’s hand, frowning as his hand landed on his own shoulder. The image shifted, adding a third figure, who stepped in from the right of his mother. Sev walked around his mom standing directly behind him and smiled. Both his parents turned to the man and nodded, allowing the Potions Master’s hands to replace theirs. The trio remained, each smiling down to Harry. 

“What do you see?” Quirrell’s voice startled Harry out of the spell.

“My family.” Harry responded honestly.

“What about the Stone?” He demanded.

Harry tilted his head, watching as Severus looked up, giving a stern glare at the other Professor. The fake Potions Master then reached into one of his many pockets, pulling out a beautiful blood red gem. He held it up to the light, showing Harry its shape as it reflected the flames’ light off of its many faces. The image smiled again before placing the stone into Harry’s hand that had somehow reached for it without Harry’s knowledge. 

“He has it!” The raspy voice yelled out. “ Take it from him quickly!”

Harry turned as soon as the voice spoke, thrusting the Stone into his pocket.

“You know, I don’t really need a wand.” Harry exclaimed suddenly, stopping Quirrell in his tracks.

“What are you talking about?” Quirrell demanded, apparently thrown off by Harry’s claim.

“I. Do. Not. Need. My. Wand.” Harry pronounced carefully, as if explaining something to an idiot.

“He lies! Grab him.” The raspy voice exclaimed, propelling the man into action. Quirrell rushed at the boy, only stopping as Harry raised his hand.

“I did warn you.” Harry said, before throwing his magic at his kidnapper, tossing his body like a toy to the other side of the room. Without a glance back, he ran towards the exit, willing his magic to kill the fire. He was about to step into the space made for him by his magic when he stopped suddenly. Thankfully in time as the empty space was soon filled with purple fire, the tainted taste of Corrupted Magic flowed off of it.

“ENOUGH” The raspy voice echoed in the Chamber, causing Harry to flinch. “ Reveal me Quirrell.”

“But, sir-”

“YOU have already proven yourself too weak to handle a child.” The voice interrupted him. “ I will handle him.”

Harry watched in horrour as Quirrell turned around, glaring at his reflection in the Mirror as he unwrapped the back of his head, revealing a grotesque face.

“Harry Potter. Come look at what you have done to me.” The new face beckoned. Harry went to deny that accusation when the face gave a cruel laugh. “ Oh yes, this is truly your fault. Do you recognize me?”

Harry shook his head.

“Of course not, we met a long time ago, when you were just a baby.” The face gave a mocking smile. “Perhaps, if I told you my name? You see, boy, I am Lord Voldemort. Oh good, you understand.” He glared at Harry. “ This is what has become of me! Forced to live off the life source of others, drinking the blood of Unicorns, and stealing the magic from children!” Spit flew out of the face’s mouth.

“ I don’t see how that is my fault.” Harry admitted, slowly moving away from the purple flames, hoping to find another way out.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“ You fail to see how my plight is because of you?” The face exclaimed. “Quirrell! Curse him.” Quirrell swiftly faced Harry, and blasted a spell at Harry, who raised his arm to defend his face. The spell hit him, cutting his sleeve and the skin underneath, causing blood to flow. He let out a silent groan at the pain.

A sharp screech from Quirrell, pulled his attention away from his own wound to look as the Professor’s arm bore a cut similar to his own. “Master! What magic is this?”

Harry took advantage of the distraction to run, not really knowing where to go as the Corrupted Flames covered much of the room now. He hissed as another spell hit his back, laughing to himself a bit as Quirrell cried out in pain as well.

“Enough!” Voldemort screamed, and Harry felt Corrupted Magic grab him, forcing him to stand directly in front of a now crying Quirrell. “If you cannot kill him with magic, use your hands!”

“Master?” Quirrell’s voice broke.

“ Strangle the brat!”

Harry struggled against the Corrupted Magic to no avail, and flinched as his former Professor wrapped his hands around his throat.

“I am sorry.” The man whispered between his sobs. Still he tightened his grip on Harry’s throat.

Harry trashed around, attempting to pry the fingers off of him to no success. He found himself staring into the eyes of his would be killer, refusing to give up. Harry felt himself slipping away from lack of air, his sight blurring, when Quirrell released him suddenly, grabbing at his own throat as he began choking.

Harry collapsed, bringing his own hand to rub at his sore throat, watching as Quirrell struggled to breathe. It took a moment before the former Professor’s body stopped moving, and Harry pushed himself away as he realized the timid Professor was now dead. He took a deep breath, and scanned the room, annoyed when the Corrupted Flames were still there, stopping him from getting help.

“POTTER!” Voldemort screeched, and Harry watched in horror as the body of Quirrell rose up, walking backwards as the face of Voldemort glared at him. “ I am not leaving without the Stone in your pocket and your life in my hands!” Said hands reached out in a way that should not have been possible, and Harry stared as they became engulfed in Corrupted Flames. 

He stumbled backwards, tripping over a loose stone brick, falling on his backside with a curse.

“Playtime is over.” Voldemort reached out to Harry, gripping his arms, causing Harry to scream out as the Flames burned him. It took only a moment before Voldemort let out a screech, releasing Harry and pulling away. “NO! WHAT IS HAPPENING?” He screamed as the Corrupted Flames flowed over the entire being, burning him instead. 

The boy could only stare as the Flames ate away at the body. “ I shall return!” Voldemort proclaimed, as a black gas erupted from the burning body and flew upwards and away.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Harry struggled to breath, his arms, his throat, the back of his head, basically everything hurt. He found himself heading, not towards the exit, which was now cleared, but to the Mirror instead. He withdrew the Stone from his pocket, holding out to the image of Sev which appeared suddenly behind him. “ You should take this back.”

“Harry?” Sev asked from behind, causing the boy to turn around and hand him the Stone.

“Here.” He said with a smile, his eyes closing as he collapsed into the arms of the Sev.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Face Voldy, commands Quirrell to curse Harry, who sends a cutting curse, hitting Harry but also cutting himself. He tries it again with the same effects. Voldy uses his Corrupted Magic to trap Harry and commands Quirrell to strangle Harry, instead Quirrell dies.
> 
> Voldy takes over the corpse because I am a sick person, and turns his Corrupted Flames on Harry, burning him. It is soon reflected on Corpse Voldy though and he screams he will return ( Yes I avoided the 'I'll be back' reference) as the fire destroys the corpse.


	35. Chapter 35:The Wizard, The Stone, and the Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor references to Severus' childhood and experiences under with Voldy and other death eaters in the first paragraph. Included a bit of child abuse and torture.

1Chapter 35:

  
  


Severus was not new to pain. His childhood was riddled with bruises and broken bones, courtesy of his father, as well as a plethora of curses and hexes, courtesy of the deranged Dark Lord and his followers. Still if asked, Severus would claim the bite of a Boomslang was the worst pain he had ever had the displeasure of feeling. 

Agony radiated from his ankle, forcing him into a wakened state, overpowering the Sleeping Curse placed upon. His body had auto responded and pulled his leg away from the cause of the pain, earning the man two matching hisses. He gazed at the two snakes, not at all comforted to recognize them as Saffron and Sands. He frowned as he saw it was Sands who had bitten him. However, his frown turned into a grimace as the venom from the smaller snake quickly coursed up his leg, using his bloodstream to reach his heart. 

A clattering to his side, barely reached his pain and sleep addled mind, and he searched for the source, grimacing as his vision swam, showing everything in sets of three. He forced his eyes to focus as he found a small vial with a mostly clear liquid. Barely recognizing it, Severus prayed it was what he needed, and downed the slimy liquid in one gulp.

He screamed out, instantly regretting his actions, as the potion found the venom in his bloodstream, igniting a new wave of agony as if his blood was blowing. Just as Severus was truly thinking he would go insane from the pain, it receded slowly, until it centralized on the snake bite just above his ankle. 

He watched, mesmerized, as little droplets of gold leaked out of the wounds, and he quickly took the empty vial to capture a few of them. With that done, Severus used the wall to his side to aid him in rising to his feet, winning at the tenderness of his ankle.

He glanced down at the two snakes, unnerved at having their full attention on him. "I suppose I should thank you," He frowned, " but I find myself rather unwilling." He managed to halt his own flinch as Saffron reared up and hissed at him. 

He accidentally made connected gazes with her, and instantly felt a presence in his mind, he almost slammed his shields up, but stopped as a lone image of Harry popped into his head, before the presence, Saffron, faded out.

" We don't have time right now," he paused, " but we shall return to what just happened at a later date." He ignored the mocking hiss she gave in return. " Lead on then." He managed to remain still even as the pair of snakes chose instead to climb up his body, and rest upon his shoulders. But only for a moment as Saffron then jumped off of him, frantically flapping her wings in an attempt to hover in front of him. Severus would have found her awkwardness hilarious had the situation not been as dire.

The trek to wherever Harry was was rather slow, as Severus was unable to put much pressure on his injured ankle, and was forced to rely on walls and railings to support him. In his travels to what he now realized would be the third floor, Severus came across the sleeping bodies of both Filius and Argus. He didn't have time to question how'd they'd arrived at that point, only managing a simple spell to confirm they were asleep and not dead.

Finally, Severus stood just outside the door leading to ‘Fluffy’. He could just make out the faint sound of music echoing from behind the large door. Saffron hisses at him, as she landed on his shoulder.

“I only wish to be sure it is safe.” He found himself defending his hesitation. Still, he drew his wand as he quietly opened the before him. Much to Severus’ relief that bloody three headed furball was in fact still asleep, but as the man never left anything to chance, he threw his own spell at the large harp in the corner, forcing it to renew it’s present song. He made his way to the far corner of the room, ignoring the angry hiss from one of the snakes, probably Saffron, as he avoided the trap door.

Instead of responding he swiped his wand in a specific pattern, and watched as the wall before him, blurred away revealing a solid wood door. He gave the angry snake a smirk though as he stepped into the new hallway that led downwards to another door. He repeated the same wand movements before that door, and opened it coming into the room just below where the Devil’s Snare grew.

He choked as he stepped in, having trouble breathing as the air was filled with ash and Corrupted Magic. Both snakes pulled their faces into Severus’ collar to avoid the harsh air. Severus for his part, produced an air bubble around his head and trudged onwards, grimacing at the thought of how Pomona will handle her prized Devil’s Snare being utterly destroyed. 

In the next room, Severus’ suddenly gripped his arm and let out a groan, as his Mark, long since dormant, now burning his arm like it had long ago. It took a bit longer than he would have liked for the pain to subside enough that he could put it to the back of his mind. Filius’ key room was in a much worse state than Pomona’s. The magic that would stun the keys as he used the Professor’s door flowed into the room doing nothing. Corrupted Magic permeated the entire room, not only making it difficult to breath, but also making it difficult to walk as it weighed heavily on Severus’ body. He avoided the keys that littered the floor, looking away from a handful of the enchanted keys as they feebly attempted to take flight with tattered wings.

The charms that would make the chest set inert upon using the Professor's door proved useless once again as Minerva’s chest set was completely obliterated and Severus had no trouble walking through the rubble to the other side, once again calling forth his air bubble to avoid the horrid smell of the Troll’s Room, almost losing his dinner at the sight of the beheaded Troll. He made his way out of the room as quickly as possible. 

Severus was rather disappointed to see the months' work of potions were all wasted as they were now only puddles and stains on the stone floor. It also meant that he had no way to cross the wall of flames, as Albus had not created a passageway that would allow anyone but himself to easily traverse into his trap. He had claimed it was far too dangerous for them and he did not wish to see any of his fellow Professor’s harmed.

The snakes had slid off of him, carefully avoiding the potions and glass that littered the floor, and Saffron flew up and around the Flames, clearly searching for a way to Harry. The roar of the flames, meant that Severus could hear very little from inside the chamber, periodically hearing screaming and yelling. Severus had never felt more useless as spell after spell failed to extinguish the wall of fire. 

A sudden clearing in the wall had him scrambling to action, rushing over and just catching sight of Harry as the flames grew back with a vengeance, turning purple and smelling of more Corrupt Magic. He fell to his knees, his ankle finally giving out. Dread filled his heart as he realized there was nothing more he could do but wait.

As the man drew in on himself, he ignored the outside world, not realizing some time had passed until he was pulled back into the world as saffron gripped his arm tightly. He came out with a shock, as the snake stopped the circulation in his arm and the pins and needles that followed urged him back into the present.

It happened none too soon as the Corrupted Flames soon fizzled out, and as Severus heard a loud angry hiss from inside the chamber, he witnessed a burning body and a black cloud erupting from it, flying up into the ceiling above .He ignore his pained ankle, rushing over to Harry who had decided to reached out towards the Mirror instead of the exit.

He stood just behind the small boy, as he handed something up to the Mirror.

“Harry?” Severus whispered, not wanting to startle him.

He quickly turned around though, with a smile, “ Here,” handing him the Stone, before he fainted into Severus’ arms. Severus barely caught him, without dropping the Stone. After making sure Harry was not in immediate harm, Severus turned his gaze to the Stone.

Albus had alluded to what they would be guarding, using only riddles and subtle hints to imply that what they truly were protecting. But, now with it in his hands, Severus knew the full gravity of the Stone. The Philosopher's Stone. The pinnacle of all alchemy. It was the physical manifestation of all alchemists' hopes and dreams.

Severus could feel it thrum with power. A small voice in the back of his head demanded he keep the stone, to just pocket it and leave everything behind, including the small pitiful boy in his arms. Its honey sweet words attempted to entice the man with dreams of riches and power. Severus nearly succumbed to its call. It was only with the quiet whimper from Harry, who then turned himself towards the warmth of Severus’ body that drew the man out of the trance he was in, slamming shut his mental barriers. The luminous Stone dimmed drastically in his hand and Severus was able to turn his gaze away from it, seeing the Mirror clearly for the first time.

He had researched heavily the Mirror, hoping never to see what his heart truly decided. It seems that the Stone was still affecting him however as he felt the pull of the Mirror. It reflected him standing, a calm look on his face. Soon people joined in, starting with an incredibly happy Harry and Godson, Draco, both shoving each other playfully to be the one to stand in front of him. Soon Lucius and Narcissa joined in, standing to his left. He was surprised to see Lily and James join in from the right, all of them looking beyond happy. 

He found his gaze locking with the much more relaxed version of himself. The man in the Mirror gave him a small smile, lifting his hand, revealing he too was holding the Stone. His Mirrored image gazed at the Philosopher’s Stone, before looking at what Severus could only think of as his family, and denied the Stone again, stuffing it in his breast pocket. Severus found himself mirroring his image, and the Stone landed heavily in his pocket, before disappearing. 

Hissing from Saffron, alerted Severus to the fact that he had spent far too much time gazing into the Mirror, watching as his family interacted, and caught the moment when it looked like the larger snake was trying to convince the Boomslang to bite him once more. 

Faster than should have been possible, Severus rose to his feet, tightening his grip on Harry, and ignored the snakes who trailed behind him. It was easier to get out of the trapped chambers, mostly because Severus’ mind was on other matters, as well as the fact that the suffocating Corrupted Magic had dissipated. The smell of the dead troll was the only thing that hampered their journey out, causing Harry into a fit of coughs. Severus was thankful he had added his own charm to the harp, as it plucked its last note just as they made it out of the door, and he heard the growling of Fluffy as the door was slammed shut behind.

“Severus!” Minerva called out, startling the man, causing him to shift in order to not drop the sleeping boy in his arms. He gave her his patented glare, surprised that it had any affect on the stern woman, before realizing it was the fact he was holding a passed out Boy-Who-Lived.

“He has the need for the Hospital Wing.” Severus explained, limping along as Minerva followed. She gave the pair several concerned looks, however he ignored them, his only thought was to get Harry to where he could be helped. 

The trio was soo joined by Filius and Pomona, who let out a small yelp when she saw the large Occamy and small Boomslang following. The Potions Master held off their questions, finally ending up in the Hospital Wing, where Poppy was somehow waiting. She prompted Severus to bring Harry to a private bed, before shoving the man to his own bad.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that limp young man.” Causing the man to stammer a denial, that she immediately killed. “ No, into the bed, I will be back to check on it momentarily. You do not want me to have to find you!”

He ignored the amused look of his colleagues, giving Minerva another glare as she let out a small laugh as he climbed onto the offered bed. It took only a few minutes for Poppy to return from Harry.

“Magical Exhaustion is the main concern. It is far worse than he had experienced earlier.” She glanced at all of the Professors. “ The next concern is the burns on his arms. Frankly, there is very little that I am able to do, the generic burn balms I have are not reacting the way they should.”

“I have reasons to believe they were made with Corrupted Magic.” Severus informed the Medical Witch. “ Our entire so called trap was brimming with it.” He had not decided what to tell the others, hoping to speak with Harry to receive the full story before revealing something that would have been better off left quiet.

He did however feel safe enough to describe what had happened to each of their chambers, apologizing to Pomona for her loss, as well as explaining that it was Quirrell who had kidnapped Harry, as well as the culprit for the Castle wide Sleeping Curse.

Filius informed Severus that as soon as he and Argus had awoken they had immediately checked on the students. Thankfully it had seemed there were no negative consequences to those that were already asleep. However they did come across two Hufflepuff Fifth Years who had fallen asleep in an abandoned classroom. Pomona had muttered something under her breath, and Severus let out a small chuckle knowing the Hufflepuffs were in for a lecture.

It was when Filius was checking his own Claws, that he realized Harry was missing. He sent a message to Minerva, who had correctly deduced that she would find Harry on the third floor. 

Poppy had decided that while the man was distracted she would run a diagnostic charm on his injured ankle, thus causing him to reveal that the injury was from a Boomslang bite. It caused some commotion from the other Heads, before Poppy sternly informed them to remain quiet or be forcibly removed from her Wing, adding that there was a sick child only a few feet away from them. 

“Honestly, between Mr. Potter’s burns, and your ankle, my expertise is being tested.” Poppy huffed, summoning a few vials. She handed one to the man, demanding he drink it, and withdrew the cream from another, ignoring Severus’ hiss of discomfort as she rubbed the cream around the bite marks. “This will deal with the swelling, and that will help numb the pain. “ She pointed to the potion he swallowed. “ But as with Mr. Potter, I’m afraid there is not much more I can do.” She exclaimed, displeased that there wasn’t much she could do. She turned her gaze to the closed off bed that held Harry, her face softening. “ There isn’t much that can be done with wounds inflicted by Corrupted Magic.” 

Whatever she would have said next was interrupted as the doors to the Wing slammed open, causing the Professors to jump into action pulling out their wands at the intruder. Suddenly the room filled with the melodious trills of Fawkes, who was just barely out of his fledgling phase, and was flying about as awkwardly as Saffron before, causing Severus to let out a bubble of laughter, that he immediately blamed on the potion.

The poor thing practically flung itself at the man, mostly succeeding in landing on his shoulder. Severus hesitated a moment, before bringing a hand up to the phoenix, and threading his fingers though the bird’s feathers, eliciting more trills from Fawkes. “ Should you really be flying?” The bird did not respond, only pushing himself into Severus’ fingers demanding more petting.

Severus judiciously ignored the other occupants, only wondering what a scene he and Fawkes were making. Eventually though, the phoenix grew bored with his petting, and clumsily made his way down to Severus injured ankle. Severus’ breath caught as he realized what the phoenix was doing, just as the first tear fell directly onto the wound. The wound let out a slight sizzle, before the tear cleansed the wound, relieving some of the swelling as well as closing the bite marks. Severus let out a relaxed sigh as the dull pain faded away. 

Fawkes, for his part, stared intently at the now healed ankle, before suddenly flying up, nearly crashing into Poppy. He then nearly fell into the curtains surrounding Harry, barely pulling up in time to fly over the rod holding the curtain up, and then back down.

Poppy, already near the curtain as she had stepped back to avoid a collision with the phoenix, pulled the curtain away, revealing Fawkes dropping tears on Harry’s burns. He let out far more tear drops than he had on Severus’ wound, tilting his head after as very little seemed to change. The phoenix made to cry more tears when Poppy stopped him.

She pulled out a wash cloth wiping at the tears and spreading it down the length of Harry’s arms. “ You’ll cry yourself to dehydration.” She admonished the young bird, who only let out a happy trill as it was clear the burns were healing with the ministrations of the Medical Witch. Once it was confirmed that his arms were in fact healing, Fawkes let out a few more notes, flying in a circle high above them, before landing on the post above Harry, dipping his head under his wing, clearly intent on spending the night.

“Perhaps we should all take the example of the phoenix to heart and go to bed.” Filius commented, earning nods from the other Professors. “ We shall continue this tomorrow in Severus' office?” Earning a stiff nod from the Potions Master, who found himself falling asleep as well, his body facing the now closed curtains of Harry’ bed.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actual conversation between Saffron and Sands, the first time Sand bit Severus.
> 
> You can't make me!
> 
> I am your mama and I am telling you to bite him. Its for his and Harry own good.
> 
> No.
> 
> Do it or I'll tell Harry you hate the ice mice he gives you!
> 
> But he's so happy when he gives me them!
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Actual conversation the second time Saffron tells Sands to bite Severus.
> 
> Do it.
> 
> But you don't have any more antivenom.
> 
> And???????
> 
> \-----------------------------------------
> 
> I know it seems like Saffron doesn't like Sev. but its not true I promise she just woke up and chose violence in this chapter.


	36. Chapter 36: The Final Days of Year One

He came fully into consciousness nearly three days after he was brought under the care of Madam Pomfrey. He was still rather tired, and would have fallen back to sleep had he not heard voices coming from beyond the curtain surrounding his bed.

“ I believe the boy must surely be well enough to answer a few questions.” The Headmaster’s voice carried over. “ He’s been resting for nearly three days.”

“He’s been  _ recovering _ for three days, Albus.” Madam Pomfrey corrected. “ He shall be recovering until I deem him well enough to leave my Infirmary on his own two feet.”

“I only wish-”

“I only wish for the poor boy to be given a chance to heal. Now I must ask you to leave, Albus.” Her tone clearly ended the Headmaster’s further attempts to speak with Harry. He listened as the man’s footsteps slowly grew quieter as he left the Infirmary.

The sound of the curtain being drawn alerted Harry to Madam Pomfrey coming in to check on him.

“I had suspected you were awake, Mr. Potter.” She gave him a small smile. “ How are you feeling?”

“Sore, mostly.” Harry admitted, well aware that trying to deny anything would immediately put him on the wrong side with the Medical Witch. He held up his arms, vaguely remembering that they were burned during the fight with Quire-Voldemort? He looked on in wonder as neither of his arms were red or blemished. He made sure to thank the woman, as she waved her wand over his body, running some tests on him.

“Oh, that wasn’t me.” She pursed her lips, clearly upset at herself, Harry realized. “ It was mostly thanks to your friend there.” She motioned to above his headrest. Harry looked up, surprised to see a rather small orange and red bird.

“Fawkes?” Harry asked, uncertain as he remembered the Headmaster’s phoenix being quite a bit larger. The phoenix responded with a few clicks of his beak, before shuffling down to land on the boy’s shoulder, puffing his chest and giving Harry an imploring look. Having received that look from a rather pushy Occamy, Harry knew instantly what was being asked of him and reached over to pet the phoenix who let out a sweet trill.

“Where is Sa-” Harry stopped himself, remembering that while the Professors knew he was a snake’s Familiar, he was not sure if Madam Pomfrey was aware.

She apparently was as she gave the boy a knowing look before pulling away another panel of curtains, revealing Sands’ terrarium. The terrarium contained both a rather irate Saffron and a small bundle hidden in the corner as far away from her as possible, that Harry recognized to be Sands himself. 

Saffron, who was busy swaying much of her body in the air, immediately noticed Harry and began hissing. Or at least Harry though she was hissing as he saw her throat and mouth moving.

“Why can’t I hear her hissing?” Harry asked, concerned that she was unwell.

“Oh, right.” Madam Pomfrey muttered, waving her wand over the glass case. Immediately her loud angry hissing filled the room. “ I could only handle so much of that.”

“ _ ~Harry! Tell this lady to let me out! How dare she trap me in here with Sands!~”  _ She glared up at Madam Pomfrey.

“Can they come out?” He asked, putting on his most innocent face that usually worked with Sev.

It was soon clear that the Medical Witch was made of sterner stuff as she remained impassive in her decision to keep them in the terrarium. “ I draw the line somewhere between phoenixes and venomous snakes.” She shook her head, muttering about how that was never a line she had to draw before.

She waved her wand over him a few more times before writing a few things down.

“Now, I am sure you are quite hungry.” His stomach growled in agreement. “No solid foods. I'll have a House Elf bring up some soup and water for you.” She finished her note which then promptly shot up and flew off. “Someone has also been most impatient to speak with you. Please do not let him interrupt your lunch.”

She left, leaving Harry feeling a bit confused as to why she would send the Headmaster away, only to have him come back. He gave it a moment, staring at the place in the divide of the curtains to make sure she wouldn’t be returning anytime soon. He then quickly focused on the terrarium, frowning as he had to put a bit more force than normal to slide the cover off enough so that Saffron and Sands could escape from, should the smaller snake wish to. 

Saffron immediately climbed out, and flew over to the bed, nestling around his neck, and glaring at the phoenix who was unperturbed by her arrival. Sand hesitated a moment, considered the rather long journey it would take for him to reach Harry and decided it was best for him to stay in the warmth of his terrarium. The added bonus of finally being away from his angry Mama was definitely a strong contender for staying as well.

Both of Harry’s hands were full now as Saffron soon demanded pets and scratches of her own. 

“I believe that Madam Pomfrey wanted to keep the venomous snakes in the terrarium, Harry.” A voice informed Harry, causing the occupants of his bed to all let out sounds of surprise.

“Sev!” Harry’s face absolutely lit up upon seeing the Potions Master. “ Look, Fawkes is here-” earning him a hiss from Saffron for being ignored,”- and Saffron.” he added a bit too late in the Occamy’s opinion. 

“ Yes, Fawkes has been with you since he healed the both of us a few days ago.” Sev explained as he took the seat next to Harry’s bed. 

“Doesn’t the Headmaster miss him?”

“I believe that Fawkes spends quite a bit of his time not with the Headmaster.” Sev pondered the question. “ Perhaps the man is used to Fawkes disappearing for days on end.”

A sudden pop had a House Elf who called herself Dimbles, after Harry asked, placed a bowl of chicken broth and a pitcher of water on the side table. Removing his hands from his feathered friends, Harry slowly made it through the entire bowl, grumbling about the lack of actual food. 

It was when he took the last spoonful that he realized, Sev had claimed Fawkes had healed both of them.

“Why did Fawkes have to heal you?”

“Well, it seems that the best way to wake me up from a Sleeping Curse was to be bitten by a Boomslang.” His response garnered a look of horrour from Harry, and a snicker from Saffron that had Harry reprimanding the unbothered snake.

_ “~ Why did Sands bite Sev?~”  _ Harry demanded a response.

“ _ ~So that I didn’t have to.~” _ Saffron yawned, showing off her long fangs.

“ I presume you are asking why I had to be bitten in the first place?” He smirked as Harry nodded.

“She only says that he bit you so that she wouldn’t have too.” Harry frowned as he told the man, not liking the answer.

“ _ ~ Would your venom have killed him?~”  _ Harry asked, wanting a better response. “ _ ~ You gave him the antivenom for Sands. Would the antivenom we made from your venom not work?~” _

Saffron, for her part, blinked slowly at the boy, clearly contemplating her response. ‘ _ ~ The antivenom would have worked.~”  _

Harry waited for more, but when she refused he tried again.  _ “~So why would you prefer that Sands, a Boomslang, which is a type of snake known to kill elephants with one bite, was a better option?~” _ Harry really didn’t like any secrets being kept from him, and it hurt especially when it was Saffron.

“ _ ~ There is a greater chance, that once I bit him, and he took the antivenom, his body would build up a resistance to my venom.~”  _ She finally admitted.

“WHAT!” Harry exclaimed, far too stunned to realize he had stopped speaking in Parseltongue.

“I gather her response was not what you expected?” Harry quickly explained her reasoning. “ That’s actually quite a good idea.” Causing Saffron to hiss in approval, and Harry to freak out. “ No, Harry, she’s right. The less people who have a resistance to her venom the better. I have no doubt she would only use her bite for your protection.” The Occamy nodded again. “ Then I accept why it was Sands who bit me.”

With only a bit more grumbling from Harry, the pair soon told the other what had happened to them that night. Much of what Harry told Sev confirmed his own theories, while what Sev told Harry only explained what had happened once Harry passed out.

“The Headmaster returned promptly the next morning.” Sec explained how he then called a faculty meeting, and how the Professors, mostly Sev and Filius described the Sleeping Curse, and what Sev had witnessed. “ He is rather keen on speaking with you.”

“I know, Madam Pomfrey dismissed him earlier.” Harry let out a rather large yawn.

“ I think it is time I take my leave.” Sev refused to let Harry convince him to stay. “ Classes are beginning again, and I have a bunch of First Years to watch over. Get some rest. I’ll return after dinner if you are awake.” He leaned in, kissing the boy’s forehead and left. Harry soon gave in to his exhaustion and snuggled up to Saffron before falling asleep.

Madam Pomfrey, upon seeing him cuddle up to a venomous snake, muttered a few words that would have burned Harry’s ears, were the poor boy awake. As it was, her words clearly bothered the phoenix who let out his own disgruntled noise before flying away. 

Sev did attempt to visit Harry after dinner, only to be turned away by Madam Pomfrey who informed him the boy needed as much rest as possible. He returned the next day, much to Harry’s joy. While he appreciated madam Pomfrey was taking care of his needs, he was getting rather bored as she didn’t allow any other visitors besides Sev, as well as not allowing him to do any work for class.

Sev asked Harry to repeat everything that had happened with Quirrell and Voldy- Sev let out a bark of laughter the first time Harry had called him that- and sat quietly for a moment. 

“I think there isn’t much you shouldn’t tell the Headmaster when he asks.” Sev, pinched the bridge of his nose. “ That man will hound you for every little detail anyways. I would however, not inform him of your wandless throwing of Quirrell, and I don’t think I have to mention you should not inform him that I was present in the image the Mirror depicted.” 

Harry very much agreed, happy that Madam Pomfrey didn’t expect him to be well enough to leave for a few more days. While he was getting rather bored, he still found himself far too tired and falling asleep after even the barest of actions, as proven when he fell asleep after she allowed him to take his first shower after waking up. He had barely put on his pajamas before he could barely keep his eyes open. 

  
  


Over the next two days, Harry improved enough that Madam Pomfrey felt safe enough to allow Harry’s friends to visit. Soon he was surrounded by Blaise and Theo, both bookending Harry on his bed, Neville sitting at the foot of his bed, after Harry practically forced him to as the poor boy offered to stand, and Daphne taking up Sev’s usual chair. 

Sev and Harry had agreed that Harry wouldn’t be able to lie to his friends, and Sev proposed, telling them that Quirrell had kidnapped him, but to refrain from mentioning the man’s death or apparent possession from Voldy. Theo gave Harry an odd look as he glossed over Quirrell’s reasoning for wanting to kidnap Harry. Daphne claimed she was sending a letter to her mother, who would be stepping up as a formal member of the Board of Governors.

Vinny and Greg visited him the next day, as well as the rest of his study group, with Terry reporting he had copies of all his notes from the classes Harry was missing. Aiden and Bethany also visited, with Aiden giving Harry far too many sweets. Bethany told him she was glad he was okay, and Harry honestly felt she meant it.

With two more days, and nearly a full week in the Infirmary, Madam Pomfrey finally gave Harry her check of approval, telling him to take things slowly or he’d have a more permanent bed in her Wing. He tried not to take it as a threat.

It should not have been a surprise that Harry was invited up to the Headmaster’s Office that very day, and Harry sighed before asking Professor Flitwick to come with him. The small Professor was more than happy to come along. Sev had asked Harry for permission before revealing what truly had happened that night to the other Heads. He feared that the Headmaster would attempt to keep them in the dark, and it did not sit well with the Potions Master.

“Harry! I am glad to see you up and walking.” The Headmaster greeted him upon their entrance. He gave the Charms Professor a small greeting before turning to Harry.

Harry was however, looking over at Sev, who was presenting his best Grumbling Dungeon Bat Persona in the corner of the office. “ Excuse me sure, why is he here?”

“Oh my boy, is that any way to treat the man who rescued you?” The Headmaster admonished Harry. “ I feel that it is best that the man who went through all that trouble should hear from you exactly what happened.”

Harry sent the brooding man a scowl before reciting the story that he and Sev had prepared, carefully glossing over his wandless magic by claiming Voldy had not bothered to remove his wand from him

“Yes, Voldemort-” Headmaster Dumbledore pointedly ignored the hiss from Sev, “-would be far too confident in his own abilities to think an eleven year old would be dangerous to him.” He winked at Harry, his eyes twinkling. “ You showed him though. However, I would recommend calling him by his full name, Harry. By not using his full name, some will believe you are far too afraid, and we both know that is not the case.”

Harry nodded, continuing his story, explaining how it was a dark robed figure in the Mirror that Harry returned the Stone to, before Sev had found him. It was after mentioning the Mirror that Harry decided to ask the Headmaster what the Mirror was for.

“Ah yes. The Mirror of Erised shows the person viewing it, an image of what they want most in the world. Some will see endless piles of money, others awards and glory.” He gave Harry his brightest smile. “ It says a great deal that you saw your family.” Soon the conversation turned to the Headmaster questioning Harry, asking every little detail possible. 

It was only after some time and Harry released a rather large yawn, that Professor Flitwick interrupted, reminding them that Harry was still recovering, and it would be best if he went back to his Dorm to take a nap. 

“Ah yes.” Headmaster Dumbledore nodded along. “ I’m glad you have brought this up. Harry my boy, I have spoken with your Professors, and we have all agreed that after your incident, we will be allowing you a pass on your final exams.” He gave off a large smile, only to have it fall off immediately as Harry responded.

Harry had seen the annoyed look cross Sev’s face, and all the uncomfortable shifting from Professor Flitwick on his side. “ Thank you, Sir. But with all due respect, there is still nearly two weeks before I have to sit for my exams. I feel with the aid of my friends and the Professors if they are willing-” A divisive snort from Sev’- as well as my study group, I feel I will be more than prepared to sit them.”

“Of course you would throw such a gracious gift back in the Headmaster’s face.” Sev barked at Harry, causing him to flinch back a bit.

“Professor Snape, it is perfectly fine. If Harry thinks he can be best prepared from his exams, then he is more than welcome to.” He smiled down at Harry after rising. “ I think as Professor Flitwick suggested, it is time you take some time to rest.” As Harry and his Head of House made to leave, the Headmaster stopped them once more. “ Oh and Harry, we have informed the students as well as the staff that you have come down with a rather strong flu. Coincidentally, it seems that Professor Quirrell had been called away to help with an ailing aunt on the Continent. I would prefer if you would inform any who asked the same thing.”

Harry nodded, and soon the two of them left, with Professor Flitwick safely escorting Harry back to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Harry wasted no time to get back to his Dorm, falling asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next two weeks were in fact very much a blur for Harry. Thankfully all of the Professors were already playing catch up with the First, Second and Third Years, and so Harry himself was not that far behind his fellow students. Still, there was quite a bit of work he did have to deal with. He had correctly believed his friends and study group would step up, but he had severely underestimated his fellow Ravenclaws who constantly handed Harry books and notes and even quizzed him on theories as they walked between classes.

The exams were hard. Professor McGonagall especially punished her students, having the exam contain two separate fifteen inch papers. The practical was much easier. Professor Sprout seemed to be the complete opposite, having only one twelve inch essay as well as taking notes describing an array of plants she had laid out in the Greenhouse. Professor Flitwick relied mostly on the practical part of the exam. The substitute Defense Professor, some paper pushed from the Ministry, had them spend most of their time performing spells, claiming she had no wish to read their chicken scratched essays. 

But it was Sev who took the throne of harshest Professor. He also seemed to relish it, even smirking at Harry when he complained to the man later the next night. Each student had one single class to brew one of the four potions they had learned about during the year. The potion was ‘randomly’ assigned, however Harry noted that no one was near another student who was making the same potion. He also realized that he was given his favourite potion to make. The worst bit however was that he then expected the students to write an essay each on the other three potions, demanding no less than fifteen inches and nor more than eighteen inches.

Harry was severely tempted to punish the man by not visiting him every night, but felt otherwise when he realized he would miss their nightly talks.

With all the exams done, Harry and his friends had taken to relaxing, spending as much time by the Black lake as they could. Harry had talked with Blaise, Theo and Neville about showing off the Study to Daphne and the Potter Twins, and they all had agreed to letting them in next year. For now they wanted it to be just for them for only a bit longer.

Before long, the night of the end-of-the-year- feast came upon them. Headmaster Dumbledore had revealed that Slytherin House had both won the Quidditch Cup as well as the House Cup. Ravenclaw had come in second, losing only by fifty-nine points, Hufflepuff by eighty points, and Gryffindors by nearly one-hundred points, mostly due to the Weasley Twins. 

While the Slytherin and most of the Ravenclaws cheered, the Headmaster rose. “ However, I feel there are a few last minute points to award.” His announcement suddenly silenced the hall, earning him glares from the Slytherin table, and looks of confusion from the Professors. Harry couldn’t help but look towards Sev, who had a deep frown on his face as he glanced over to him before focusing solely on the Headmaster.

“ Yes, I do believe younger Mr. Harry Potter deserves some points for persevering in difficult times. Mr. Potter, as many of you know spent much of the last term in the Hospital Wing. Still he managed to study hard and sit through all of his exams and I am quite happy to reveal that he has blown all expectations out the window so to speak.” He gave the Hall his best grandfatherly smile, before settling his twinkling eyes on Harry. “ I do believe that he deserves sixty points for his efforts.”

There were murmurs, and grumbling mostly from the Slytherin table, as the students realized that it would throw the Ravenclaws into first place. They all stared up at the House Cups containing the points for each House, fully expecting the Ravenclaw Cup to fill up with more blue gems, as well as for the banners to switch from Slytherin to Ravenclaw.

Harry himself glared at the Headmaster’s announcement, but soon turned it to his House Cup, willing the gems to not be added. He felt as Hogwarts seemed to agree with him, and he relaxed with a small smile, that soon turned into what he hoped was a look of disappointment as he saw Sev look at him and shake his head.

The murmurs and whispers had turned into full on words as the students grew more and more confused as no gems were added to the Ravenclaw Cup.

“ Well, it seems it might be far too late to hand out points at this time.” The Headmaster shook his head. “ Well Mr. Potter, I will be sure to add those points to Ravenclaw at the beginning of next year.” He faced the entire student body. “ But now let us feast! Tomorrow you all shall be returning home for the summer, so enjoy tonight!” 

It was quite a feast, but it hung heavy in Harry’s stomach as the reminder he would be returning to Number Four brought a level of anxiety and uncertainty into his mind. He avoided dessert all together, much to Blaise’s delight as the other boy happily ate his pudding as well. Soon they were dismissed, and Harry decided he would have to try something. He knew that Sev was doing his best, but Harry was deeply afraid of what would happen when he stepped into Number Four.

He slowly made his way over to Professor Flitwick, kindly asking the man if they could speak privately. 

“What seems to be bothering you, Heir Potter?” Professor Flitwick questioned him. Like a damn, Harry immediately told the Charms Professor much of his childhood, as well as how he was being treated when he attempted to return to Number Four during the Winter Holiday.

“ I don’t feel safe there.” Harry ended his tale. Saffron had long since come out of his collar and was trying to console him. Tears had made their way down his face, much to his confusion as he didn’t realize he was crying.

Professor Flitwick had not been expecting the onslaught. He had assumed Harry’s family was problematic, but had not for a minute thought it to be that bad. “Does Master Snape know?”

Harry nodded, revealing the Charmed necklace that Sev had given him.

Professor Flitwick asked for a moment to think, offering Harry some hot chocolate, and Harry happily took, wanting to do something with his hands besides wringing them together. By the time he had finished his mug, the Professor finally spoke.

“ If you do not mind, I wish to converse with Master Snape.” He looked at Harry straight on. “ For now, it might be best that you take a Calming Draught and try to sleep. Together, I believe that Master Snape and I come up with something. I cannot promise that you won’t have to go there tomorrow, but I will promise that you will not be staying there for long.” 

He tried to give Harry a comforting smile, but Harry was still disappointed. He knew it was a long shot, but he couldn’t help that little bubble of hope forming in his chest. He thanked the Professor again, and quickly made his way back to his Dorm. He laughed as he pulled his curtain way to reveal his bed was almost completely full.

Besides Hedwig, who had taken her usual perch on the headrest, a slightly more mature Fawkes joined her. On the bed itself, Sands had made a small nest near his pillow, while Mrs. Norris and a Fourth Year’s kneazle named Demetri claimed much of the rest of the bed. Harry had long since stopped Demetri and Mrs. Norris from coming to sleep with him, making sure to inform Argus and the Fourth Year the next day. Saffron soon jumped off of Harry and claimed what little head space was left for her. It took quite a bit of maneuvering but soon Harry found himself enough space, and after taking a sip of the strongest Calming Draught Sev had given him, and closing his bed curtains, Harry fell into a rather surprisingly good night sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have updated the number of chapters. We are now truly almost at the end. Only one more chapter and an small epilogue to go :D


	37. Chapter 37: Returning to Number 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: there is blood and noncanonical death. Not Harry or Sev, nor anyone of importance. Is that mean? I feel like it is not when you find out who.

Chapter 37:

  
  
  


Severus dutifully repeated his interactions with Quirinus and the Dark Lord, repeating what he had already informed Albus for at least the third time. Still, it seemed that Albus was never quite satisfied with his responses. 

Severus had far too much on his mind as it was as Harry was still unconscious and in the Hospital Wing. Poppy, after much smirking and knowing looks on her end, was sending him updates. She had admitted she was not overly concerned that the raven haired boy was still asleep, claiming it was for the best when it came to Harry’s recovery.

Still, being unable to talk with Harry, or visit him was putting the dour man on edge. Within the next two days of Quirinus demise, the younger students were no longer exhausted. In fact they were far too energized for Severus’ liking. As Albus had claimed with a glimmer and a smile, the students had soon put the experience behind them as another mystery of Hogwarts.

Oddly, the Dark Lord had staged his attempted theft on a Friday, leaving the students a full weekend to recover after Harry defeated him. It was on that Monday that Albus made an announcement to the students and faculty. 

“It would seem that Professor Quirrell has been called away to care for a sick Aunt on the Continent.” He gazed over the students with a sad smile. “ I am sure I am not the only one who wishes him the best, and his Aunt a speedy recovery.” There were some murmurs from the students, with quite a few happy smiles and sighs of relief that the Headmaster pointedly ignored. 

It was by the end of breakfast and almost as an afterthought that the Headmaster had even bothered to introduce the temporary Defense Professor, Madam Merriweather.

The sour-pussed older woman silenced the polite clapping with a stern look before briskly waltzing out of the Hall. His Snakes had informed him that she was rather rude and short with her students, demanding perfection almost immediately. Minerva had actually had the nerve to joke, claiming she would give him a run for his money as the ‘Most Stern Professor’. He had responded by giving the entire Third and Fourth Year Gryffindor students detentions.

Still, nothing could stop his growing concern for Harry has the boy continued to sleep. When Poppy’s message had come to him, informing him that Harry had in fact woken, he had almost ran out of his classroom. It was only as he realized he still had a class that he took control of himself and instead glowered at the students for the rest of the class. It did help to empty his class at the end of the period, and he skipped lunch to visit Harry instead. 

After listening to Harry’s recounting, Severus almost wished that Quirinus was still alive, if only for Severus to kill the man again. Over the next several days that Harry remained in the Infirmary, the pair spoke often about what happened. Severus had felt it would be best to repeat the narrative that Harry would later give Albus, claiming repetition would allow it to become more believable. 

The meeting with Harry had not come soon enough for the Headmaster, and quite frankly for Severus as well. He was incredibly sick of listening to the older Wizard’s speculation, especially as he was well aware of what truly happened.

“It must be Love, Severus.” His eyes gleamed with unknown knowledge. “ A mother’s love to be sure. Voldemort’s one weakness is something he has never felt.”

“Love?” Severus sniffed in disdain, ignoring the aching of his forearm as the Mark throbbed with the Dark Lord’s name being mentioned. “ Surely that is ludicrous? It is more likely it is the Potter Family’s Dumb Luck.” He found his tongue always felt heavier as he was forced to belittle Harry.

“Now, Severus,” Albus chided, “even you must admit that Lily was an extraordinarily Witch. As we've discussed before, I still believe it was her Love for Harry that allowed him to vanquish Voldemort before. It is quite reasonable to believe that her Love for Harry still protects him.” 

Severus didn’t have to fake his ill look. He hated whenever the Headmaster mentioned Lily. The man always seemed to use her as a weapon against him. Only the knowledge that he had healed the rift between himself and Lily, and begrudgingly with James as well, that soothed the Potions Master’s irritation. 

The Headmaster’s continued support for ‘Love’ being the reason Harry had defeated the Dark Lord once more reminded him of the many conversations he was having with the Infirmary bound Wizard.

***

Severus frowned as he quietly watched Harry. He had taken to waiting around at the entryway to Harry’ private room before coming in. He had little doubt that was unaware he was there, especially as one of the snakes or Fawkes would make a sound whenever someone, usually himself or Poppy made to enter.

It was the far-off look on him, as Harry stared out of the nearby window that bothered the man. That along with Harry’s sudden tendency to lose focus when he was having conversations. He had quietly conferred with Poppy, as well as Filius about his concerns. Both had agreed it did bode well for the boy’s mental health, with Poppy mentioning she had asked Albus to grant a Mind Healer to visit the boy. She was a great medical Witch, but unfortunately her skills did not translate into the Mental Healing Arts. The blasted man had refused claiming Harry was quite young and would easily bounce back.

“He is a child! Not a rubber ball!.” Poppy had nearly Cursed the fool. Still he ignored her warnings. Filius had recommended allowing his friends to visit, believing a distraction might alleviate the stress on Harry’s mind. He too believed that a Mind Healer was needed, but his request letter sent to Harry’s Aunt had not come back, much to Severus’ annoyance. 

Severus had already decided it was on him to deal with collecting a Mind Healer for Harry, having reached out to a handful that he trusted, or owed him favours. He had created a file on each of them, firmly believing that Harry needed to be the one to agree as well as meeting and picking his own. He had already contacted Aggie, who informed him her cottage was open to them, should Severus need a neutral place for Harry’s sessions.

Filius’ suggestion to allow Harry visitors had in fact aided in Harry’s mood, however there were still moments where Harry seemed lost in his own head, as what was happening as Severus stood outside at the moment. This one was particularly worrying as both snakes hissed at his presence with Harry still looking outside. It took Severus walking in fully and pulling out the chair, before sitting down to gain Harry’s attention.

“Hi, Sev.” Harry turned away from whatever had held his attention, a brilliant smile on his face. He had the Boomslang coiled on his lap like a venomous kitten. Saffron now hung loosely off of his neck, her head lazily nestled on his shoulder. Severus was almost positive that the lump under Harry’s blanket was a curled up Mrs. Norris, and he was not at all surprised to see Hedwig staring at him from her perch on the headrest. Harry looked far too comfortable for someone who had very little room in his own bed.

“Good Afternoon, Harry,” Severus replied, making himself a cup of tea for the offered kettle, “ What have you been up to?”

Harry scowled at the question. “Nothing! Madam Pomfrey won’t let me do anything.” He contorted his face a bit, before speaking in a rather decent impression of the Medical Witch. “ Too much stress, Mr. Potter! Only light -and I mean LIGHT- reading, Mr. Potter!”

“So it is going well then.” He smirked at the boy. Harry responded by sticking out his tongue and pulling away the tray of biscuits that Severus was attempting to sneak one from. “Sharing is caring, Harry.” Severus responded by flicking his wand and summoning a couple of biscuits, smirking at the pout his actions caused.

The pair soon let silence take over as they made their way through the plate of biscuits and finished off the tea.

“The Goblins were right, I think.” Harry proclaimed suddenly, staring out the window again.

“I have found that they usually are, or if not correct in the beginning, then they change whatever made them wrong in the first place.” He had hoped for a laugh, but settled for the small smile Harry gave him. “ But what do you suppose they were correct about now?”

Harry toyed with a loose thread from his blanket. “ The Heir’s Protection,” Harry turned his full gaze on the Potions Master, “ Magic really does accept me as Voldy’s Heir.” He compared the deaths of Quirinus and the defeat of the Dark Lord as similar to how the Protection would act against his Aunt and Uncle. “ It was more extreme, but then again he- they- were trying to kill me.” 

Severus took a moment to accept what Harry had told him, analyzing what he had witnessed and what Harry had informed him from the several reports concerning the on goings at Number 4 as well as what happened to Quirinus. He soon realized that Harry, and by default the Goblins were most likely correct. Still he would reach out to the Goblins to confirm.

“The Headmaster believes that it was the ‘Love’ of your mother that has kept you alive.” Severus admitted after a while. He caught a slight movement, as Harry’ hand slid under his pillow, pulling out Lily’s Charm book.

He opened the book to a random page, and Severus could make out the copious notes in Lily’s handwriting. “ I think perhaps that she was the reason I survived in the first place.” He tenderly laid his hand down on the page. “ She was quite the Witch.” Tears streaked down his face, and Severus was not surprised to find himself wrapping his arms around the crying boy without a second thought. It wasn’t long before Harry had cried himself to sleep, and it was only after Poppy threatened him, did Severus leave.

  
  


***

Severus refused to give any information to Albus, and while he did agree with Harry’s assessment, he felt it was prudent to keep the older Wizard as in the dark as possible. He had wanted to throttle the man though, when he offered Harry the chance to not take his final exams. Not because he feared Harry would accept it. No the boy was far too much like his mother for him to try and take the easy way out.

While the Headmaster was seeing it as a way to win over Harry, Severus, and no doubt Harry himself, saw it as an insult. Harry had struggled in the last few months to keep his grades up, as well as pushing his friends to work. Not taking his exams would certainly ruin all of his effort, not to mention how it might affect his Ranking.

And while Harry himself did not care about the ranking, Severus did. When Albus had come to him earlier, to ask for his permission, Severus had pointed out that the grades on the finals were pertinent to the students final Ranking. The Headmaster had merely smiled, denying any problems that would have sprouted from it. 

“You’ll do it with or without my permission.” Severus had replied, giving in and walking away from the man.

He was far too proud when Harry had neatly turned down the man, and he watched in awe as Harry and his friends picked up the pace, and put in as much effort as they could into the final two weeks of classes. All of his fellow Professors were just as amazed as he was, and he spent far too much time speaking with Filius over the triumphs of Harry. 

The end of the year flew by much to Severus’ frustration. Unspeakable Eltanin had not reached out to him, and all his letters to her were sent back unopened. He had thought about dropping in on her, however the rush of at the end of the year stopped him, as grading homework and exams as well as panicking Fifth and Seventh Year students took up much of his time. 

When on the last day, Filius came up to him with concerns for Harry, Severus’ heart fell. He had not forgotten about Harry, having made several plans to remove him from Petunia’s grasp, each plot more illegal than the next. Still, he had not come up with a solution that would work.

The final day flew by with Severus not having a chance to speak with Harry. Instead he sent Harry a letter, informing him that he would be at Number 4 after dinner and they would go from there. He was well aware it was not enough, but it was the most he could do at the moment. As the students boarded the train, he made sure to stand somewhere he could watch over Harry, his instincts screaming to not let the boy on the train. It was only with the intervention of Filius, who frowned and shook his head at him, that stopped him from boarding the train himself and Apparating away with Harry in hand.

He spent the rest of the day in unease, scowling and being rather short with his fellow Professors much to Minerva’s annoyance. He spent most of the time throwing up random Tempus Charms, counting down the minutes to when the train would stop at Kings Cross, then the minutes it would take for Harry to travel back to Number 4.

Unfortunately the final staff meeting interrupted his vigil of the clock, and he remained impassive as Albus ranted and raved about another successful school year. The Headmaster ignored any attempts from Minerva to try and figure out what had truly happened to Harry and Quirrell and Severus let out a quiet groan as the next hour was filled with useless words and plans.

Suddenly, his wrist burned, and Severus gripped at the bracelet that was causing his pain. He went white as he realized it was the one paired with Harry’s. There normally would not have been any pain, only a slight warming as Harry called for his help during the Winter Holidays. He had no idea what would cause it to overheat, only knowing that Harry needed him.

He had completely ignored Albus as he rushed out of the staffroom, freezing as he realized he had no quick way to get out of the Castle.

“Use my fireplace, Severus.” Filius pulled the panicked man towards his office. Together they took the floo to the Three Broomsticks, with Severus ignoring the barmaid, and Filius politely waving her off.

“Are you coming as well?” Severus managed to ask, feeling like he was wasting a few precious moments instead of immediately Apparating away.

“Without a doubt.” Filius immediately grabbed the Potions Masters wrist. “ I am sure you know exactly where we need to go?” Severus did not respond, only spinning on the spot and taking them both to Number 4.

*************************************************************************************************************

The train ride was rather boring Harry thought. He had seen Sev on the platform before he climbed onto the train, and he was almost tempted to run up to the man and beg him to keep him. However he knew it was not the right time, and he made his way into a compartment.

Many of his friends came and went; Daphne with Aiden and Bethany, Greg and Vinny offering some sweets, and even Neville who came in to say goodbye before making his way back to his fellow Hufflepuffs.

Only Theo and Blaise remained. Harry had tried to tell them they could off to see their other friends if they wished, Harry wilting under the matching glares they gave him.

“We arrived together, and we shall leave together.” Blaise had declared pompously, with Theo nodding in agreement.

They both realized quite soon that Harry was not in the mood to talk though, and while they did include him in their conversations, Harry was thankful they weren’t making him feel obligated to join in.

He was not afraid to admit he had preemptively taken a Calming Draught, and it sat uneasy in his stomach. It was a rather relaxing train ride, if Harry ignored the heavy feeling in his gut. The trio shared a few sweets, and Theo managed to convince Harry to play him in a game of Wizard's chest afterwards. Soon his friends had him sufficiently distracted with jokes and wild stories that Harry only realized they had stopped at Kings Cross when the train’s whistle announced it.

He sat still, unsure if he wished to stay on the train as long as possible and risk the ire of Vernon, or if he should just give in and get it over with. Blaise and Theo had waited for him, and as he rose, he was immediately pulled into a hug by Theo.

“ I will kidnap you right now.” Theo looked him dead center in the eyes. “ My father won’t care. We have a Villa in Greece and we can hide there for the summer.”

“ Or you can join me in the South of Italy.” Blaise chimed in. “ I am much more fun to be around.”

“That’d be too much trouble for you guys.” Harry denied, wiping away a tear. “ Thank you though.”

Theo refused to let him go. “ I am serious, Harry. All you need to do is send me a letter and I will have my father take me to you.” Harry couldn’t say how much he appreciated his friends at the moment, instead pulling them into a tight group hug. Slowly he released them, and let them leave, deciding to sit down and wait until it was quieter on the platform.

Another whistle pulled Harry from his thoughts, and he found that the Platform was indeed nearly empty. He walked slowly through the brick wall, and made his way out of the train station, aware that Vernon would be waiting in his car on the street. He frowned as he could not locate the silver wagon. He quickly walked up and down the street, thankful he had shrunk his trunk and Hedwig’s cage before he got off the train.

“~ _ What is wrong?~”  _ Sands hissed from within Harry’s pocket.

“~ _ The walrus man is not here to bring us to their home.~”  _ Saffron responded for Harry, as she could see clearly from her hiding spot in Harry’s collar.

“~ _ Do we get to go back to the castle then?~”  _ Sands asked.

Harry was tempted, but he knew he would be in far too much trouble. Instead he pulled out some Muggle cash, and hailed a cab. The ride to Surrey was too quick in Harry’s opinion and before he knew it they had pulled into the driveway, where the silver wagon was parked. He paid the driver, who took his money without a word, and Harry climbed out of the cab. The driver immediately took off, and Harry found himself unable to walk up the pathway to the front door. 

“I have Magic, I will be fine.” Harry repeated the mantra to himself, finally convincing his feet the move. He had only made it a few steps before something came borrowing out of the sky, and attempted to block his path. 

The hooting and the white feathers soon gave away to Harry that it was Hedwig who was attacking him, and he managed to calm her down, only for her to land on his shoulder and nipped at his ear.

“You don’t want me to go in, do you?” Harry asked, feeling her panic and concern over him through their Bond. She let out a loud hoot, ruffling her feathers. He peaked at Saffron who had let her Head out as well as Sands, who peaked out as well. “ None of us want to go in, do we?” He took a deep breath as all three animals agreed. “ Well then, I guess we won’t.” 

He took a few more breaths before he turned around and began walking away. 

“Harry, where are you going?” A woman's voice called out to him, causing him to flinch. He turned around to see Petunia now stood at the door, beckoning him to come in. “ Come in, Sweetie, we’ve missed you.” 

Harry cringed as she continued to call out to him. “ I was just going to pick up something to eat from the market.” Harry tried to get away.

“Nonsense, we have plenty of food.” Petunia’s smile seemed to hurt her face. “ Come in now, Dudley has been waiting to play with you for days now.” 

Suddenly, Harry’s feet started moving towards the house, and Harry began to panic. “Hedwig go.” He shooed her as he found himself unable to stop moving, the smile of Petunia’s face, filling his stomach with fear. Upon reaching the front door, she placed her hand on his arm, griping him tightly and causing him to wince as she escorted him into the house, closing the door with a heavy thump.

“Now why don’t you go make yourself a sandwich in the kitchen.” Petunia stood at the door, only heading up the stairs as Harry entered the kitchen. He immediately rushed to the back door, crying out as he tried to open it only to be shocked. He took a moment to try and push his magic at it, to no success. Taking a deep breath to stop the panic that was over taking him, Harry tried to figure out a way to get free. His breath hitched as his magic reached out and met with a very similar feeling of wrongness. He struggled to recognize the feeling.

  
  
  


“You haven’t made a sandwich, Harry.” Petunia exclaimed from the doorway, causing him to jump. “ No matter, I have biscuits and tea in the sitting room.” Having very little choice in the matter, Harry found himself sitting awkwardly on a chair opposite to Petunia.

“Where’s Dudley?” He asked, hoping to distract her. He was still struggling to understand what his magic was telling him.

“Oh,” Petunia’s face fell for a second, “ he’s too tired. He told me he’ll play with you tomorrow though.” Her face brightened considerably. “ But enough about Dudley, how was Hogwarts?”

Harry found himself having to explain much about what he learned, flinching as her smile grew more and more, and she slid closer to him. 

“And your wand?” She asked quite suddenly, interrupting Harry as he was explaining a potion to her. “ I know your Uncle scared you before, but may I please see it?”

“ I, uh don’t have it on me. “ Harry tried to lie. “ They kept it at the school, it’s uhhh, a new policy.” the sudden slap to his face had him falling back in his chair stunned.

“Now don’t lie to me, Harry,” Petunia chided him, “ I know that you have it on you. I can feel it.” Harry watched as her face contorted from her scary smile to a scowl. “ I want your wand and I want it now.” She rose up suddenly, moving to stand in front of him, but before she could he threw one of the many cushions at her face. He scrambled away as it hit her, making his way to the front door.

“Harry!” Suddenly he was picked up and thrown against the wall, inches from his cupboard door. He heard a sickening crack before pain shot up from his leg. Immediately realizing his leg had been broken upon impact. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Harry.” He watched, unable to move as she limped slowly towards him as he saw that her leg was no injured “ You see why I need your wand? I would never have hurt you if I could control my magic.” With inhuman strength, she picked him up, and thrust her hand into his pocket, unfortunately not the one that held Sands, but the one that contained his trunk. She pulled it out with glee, frowning as she realized it wasn’t his wand.

She clutched the Shrunken trunk, gazing at it as her cruel smile grew. “ It’s in here isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for a reply, only dragging him to the cupboard door and throwing him back into it. “ Stay there while I collect your wand, sweetie.”

Harry flinched as he heard the latch on it close.

“~ _ Why isn’t your magic working?~”  _ Sands questioned, slithering out of his pocket. He had wanted to bite the woman, but he hadn’t managed to get his face out in time.

“~ _ Something is blocking it.~”  _ Harry replied.

“ _ ~It is Corrupted Magic.~”  _ Saffron hissed, her eyes glinting with her rage. “ _ ~ Can you call one of those Elves?~” _

Harry tried, feeling it as the magical call hit a barrier and returned to him. Suddenly he gripped the bracelet from Sev, trying to put as much magic as he could into it to call him. He wasn’t sure if it could reach beyond whatever barrier there was, only hoping that it would work.

“I need to get out of here.” He listened at the door, hearing as Petunia let out inhuman screeching as she failed to Unshrink and open his chest. He flinched as her screeching grew closer, and suddenly the door was ripped open and he was pulled roughly by his neck. He passively noticed that she was now dragging her leg, seeing that it too was broken. Without much consideration she threw him to the floor, causing him to hit his head on the coffee table. Reaching up he found his hand covered in blood.

“Aunt Petunia please stop.” Harry begged.

“Open this!” She hissed. “ I want your WAND!!!” she practically threw his trunk at him, and Harry attempted to Unshrink it. It took far too long for her though, and she grabbed his hand, crunching his fingers hard, causing several of them to break. He let out a sharp scream, pulling his hand away from her and falling to the ground. “ I’m so sorry Harry, but please just open the chest for me.” She pleaded, waving around her matching broken fingers.

Harry tried to get up, he really did, but the pain from his hand and his leg, on top of the blood loss, had severely weakened him and Harry found himself quickly and mercifully passing out. The last thing he saw was two snakes slithering out of the cupboard, and Petunia looming over him.

*************************************************************************************************************

Saffron let out a terrifying hiss as she saw the terrible woman looming over Harry. Her bond with him let her know he was in desperate need of help, but she knew the woman needed to be dealt with first. Thankful that Harry had passed out, Saffron hesitated only a moment before opening the bond and pulling some of his magic into her.

With that extra magic, she found herself growing, larger and larger until she took up much of the room. The woman let out a terrible screech at the sight of her, and Saffron felt Corrupted Magic slam at her scales. Unfazed she rose up and slammed one of her wings into the woman, throwing her across the room. The woman rose up quickly, screeching and hollering at Saffron, pelting her with stronger attacks. 

It did little to stop the large snake from moving forward and she lashed out with her fangs, scoring several cuts on the woman’s arms as she had raised them to protect her face. With the woman distracted, Saffron trapped the woman in her coils, glaring down as the woman’s screeches petered down to small whimpers. She tightened her grip, eventually silencing her.

“~ _ Sands, I want you to bite her.~”  _ She hissed at the other snake, who had climbed up on her and was now close to the woman’s face. Unlike with Severus, the small snake did not hesitate and bit sharply into her neck. Both snakes watched as the poison overtook her, even as her Corrupted Magic attempted to overpower the venom. Soon she stilled, foaming at the mouth. Only after a few moments of silence did Saffron relax her grip on the body, letting it fall to the floor. 

Suddenly the front door slammed open and She turned sharply, preparing to attack whoever was next, stopping suddenly as she found herself at the wand points of Harry’s two Professors. She let out a deep hiss, enjoying the pained look on their faces before pulling aside revealing the destroyed room and the collapsed boy near the fireplace.

*************************************************************************************************************

No spell they threw at the barrier would break it. Still, neither Professor relented. They could hear screams and screeches from within, and what Severus was sure was the sound of breaking furniture. 

“We need more fire power.” Filius exclaimed, watching as another spell broke against the barrier.

“There isn’t time.” The taller man responded, throwing several spells in rapid succession, each failing spectacularly.

Suddenly a scream that both men knew to be from Harry came out of the house. They both turned back to the house in horrour. Severus immediately went back to throwing spell after spell, while Filius just listened. The sound of more furniture being broken found his ears, but all was suddenly silenced as a rather large hiss overtook everything, even causing Severus to stop his assault and listened.

It wasn’t long before they both felt the magic around them shudder, and watched in amazement as the barrier fell. The Potions Master waited only a moment before he threw a spell at the front door busting it open and the pair rushed in.

They almost immediately came face to face with a giant snake, and only a moment more for Severus to let out a sigh of relief as he recognized Saffron. The giant snake gazed at them before pulling back and revealing the disaster around her. 

Severus’ eyes landed on Harry immediately and he rushed over to him. Filius surveyed the room, frowning as he spotted the body of a woman in the corner.

“Harry needs immediate help.” Severus spoke up, pulling Filius from his thoughts.

The Charms Master nodded. He waved his wand, placing several Status Charms upon the room and the body before following the other man out. “What do we do with the rather large snake?” 

The large snake only let out an annoyed hiss, before her body began to shrink before their eyes, until she was back to her original form. She gave herself a shake before slithering over to the Potions Master, who muttered something under his breath, before allowing the snake to climb up his arm, Sands quickly followed, and soon both snakes coiled up on his shoulders, Harry in his arms.

“Back to Hogwarts?” The Charms Professor asked, earning a sharp nod from the other man. With one last look around, Filius Apparated away, landing just outside the gates to the castle, it took only a moment for Severus to appear, giving Filius enough time to send a message to Poppy to have her prepare a bed for the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have rewritten the chapter far too many times. Honestly, it got to the point where I wrote the last few pages over and over and over again. I had almost given up and split it into two chapters. I think its where I wanted it to be though.
> 
> On a more personal note. Shit has happened in my life. I've had to put down my 13 year old blind dog, who in less than five days went from being a happy little pupper to barely being able to breath and walk on his own. It was so bad this week that I almost gave up on writing all together this week. But I found myself writing out chapters for book 4 and 5, and it led to me tackling this one.
> 
> There is only the epilogue left to go, which I had hoped to have gotten this chapter out by last Friday and the epilogue out today, Unfortunately that didn't happen. I'm planning on releasing the Epilogue by next Monday as It seems like its actually going to be a full chapter... I still plan to take the two weeks of in March before I begin working on Book 2.


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